Twice the Plum!
by manga princess
Summary: Stephanie's got a new roommate. It's not something she looked forward to but hey, she's making the best of it. But how will she handle a girl who is as disaster prone as she is? Take a look and see. [Finished!]
1. Adriana Plum

I thought I'd try my luck in the books category. Particularly this one since it's been in my mind ever since I got introduced to the series. Which one? Why Stephanie Plum! Later, I might take a trip to Metro Girl. But not now. Now, I'm hanging out in Jersey! Let's get to it!

Disclaimer: If life was grand, I'd totally own it. But life ain't grand so I don't got it.

* * *

When was the last time you had a really shitty day? Can you remember what it was like? Maybe it had something to do with stubbing your toe, losing something expensive or getting really sick. That used to be how I described a shitty day too. But not anymore. Oh no. Now my shitty days are way out there. But I probably better start at the beginning. My name is Adriana Plum and just recently I learned that I am going to be moving in with my cousin, Stephanie. It was news that totally depressed me.

Now don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't like Stephanie because I do. Out of all my cousins that I've known, Stephanie is by far my favorite. But the thing is, we're not exactly fit company with each other. And when I think about how our parents thought I could be a long lost twin, I was boggled. But now, I think the main reason was because I was the copycat. I did everything that she did so I could be exactly like my big cousin. If Stephanie wanted to fly off the roof, I wanted to fly off the roof. If Stephanie got to be alone in a garage with a Morelli boy, I wanted to be alone with a Morelli boy. I never got the privilege of the latter but you get the idea. I looked up to her. Stephanie, I'm sure, sucked it up enjoying the attention. But I didn't mind because she was my idol. And that was where the similarities ended, I'm afraid. We couldn't be more different unless we weren't related. How so? For starters, even though you would never know it just by looking, Stephanie is exactly 5 years older than me. Well, 5 ½ anyway. Not only that but she's also a good 5 inches taller than me as well. Not that I was ever really tall for my age. And perhaps most major of all, Stephanie is a pure Burg girl while I am not.

Sure, I was conceived in the Burg. I was born in the Burg. Hell, I even got raised up in the Burg too… but only up until I was 6 years old. After that, my family packed up and we moved out to Point Pleasant, which is actually a pleasant place to spend the rest of your childhood now that I think about it. I never knew the reason why we moved away. Though I do believe it had something to do with the rumors of the Morelli males who also resided in the Burg. I think that's when everything changed for us. Even when I came back to the Burg my middle school years, Stephanie and I had gone our separate ways. I never really saw her or spent too much time with her. Not like I used to. With me being so much younger, we didn't exactly hang out in the same circles. Or wouldn't. And when it came for heading off to college, I didn't even go to Jersey state like everyone else. Nope. I ended up getting a scholarship and heading off to Colorado. I haven't gotten in touch with her since. Now, 5 years later, I get the chance to live with her. For an undetermined amount of time. I gotta be honest. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to this.

* * *

_Stephanie_

I've tackled many obstacles in my life. From getting kidnapped to blowing up my cars to getting shot. But today, I'm not sure I can handle what's in store for me today.

My name is Stephanie Plum. I work as a bounty hunter for my cousin Vinnie at his Bail Bonds Agency. When someone commits a crime out here in Jersey, every once in a while they come to Vinnie to get bonded out of jail until their official court date. He pays money on their behalf and they go free. Occasionally,--Okay, more than occasionally--they don't show up. When that happens, he ends up losing money. That's where I come in. It's my job to bring these guys in so Vinnie gets his dough. On top of that, I also earn 10 of the bond money. It's a stressful, dangerous job but hey, it pays the bills. And even though I usually suck at it, I've actually done pretty good for myself considering. But nothing I've been through looked as intimidating as right now.

Just recently, I learned that I'm going to have a new roommate. This probably sounds really selfish but I really don't want a roommate. I've already shared my place with two people and I'd rather not go through the trouble again. Okay, technically when my sister Valerie had the apartment I wasn't living there and my Grandma Mazur is an old woman who will no doubt be much different than a young woman. But still… someone could have at least asked my consent. Or at least given some warning. But on the other hand, if what my parents and my aunt and uncle said is true, then I could get some help paying rent. If only rent money was the only thing I was worried about.

I drove into the airport and parked my recently acquired car, a convertible. It's costing me an arm and a leg to pay for it but damn it, it was worth it. After waiting for about 5 minutes, I spotted her. My cousin, Adriana. I recognized her instantly. She had definitely changed from the last time I saw her. Strawberry blonde hair, bluish black eyes…But then, that was around 5 years ago. A lot about her was still the same though. Same sensitive pale skin, chubby in figure and yep. Still shorter than me. I did my best not to smile as I walked up to her. It's just that there aren't very many people shorter than I am so it's pretty interesting to think about.

"Adriana?" I greeted when I got to her.

Her eyes looked over me for one full second before recognition hit. "Stephanie?"

I smiled. "Long time no see."

She squealed then hugged me. "Omigod! Look at you! You're so different but not so different. Does that make sense?"

I laughed. "Actually it does." I released her and gestured to my car. "Come on, let's get your things in and head to our new place."

Adriana didn't have nearly that much stuff so we got her things settled pretty quickly and just headed to the car. The drive from the airport was silent. Neither of us had anything to say apparently and I had the feeling that she was just as edgy about moving in with me as I was. Most likely because it wasn't her idea. My theory proved right.

"So whose idea was it?" she asked me suddenly.

We'd arrived at my—our—apartment by now and had just walked into the living room.

"What idea?" I asked her.

"For us to become roommates. Who thought it was a good idea?"

"Oh. My parents. You?"

"Same." She paused. "Hey, this isn't gonna bother you, is it? Because I'd hate if I were in the way or anything…"

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine." I paused. "As long as you are."

"She smiled. "Oh, I'm great."

"Okay then. We've got nothing to worry about."

Adriana sighed with relief. "Good." She looked around. "So this is your apartment, huh?"

"Yep. Home sweet home. I know, it's small. But this was never meant for more than one person to live in."

"No kidding. You've only got one bedroom. Does this mean I'm gonna need the couch?"

"Not unless you want it. I don't mind sharing the bed. Just let me know if you have any sleep issues. Like snoring or kicking."

"Well, I don't think I've got any sleep issues so we should be good."

Feeling much more positive about the arrangements, I left Adriana to make herself at home. It was weird being with my little cousin. I hadn't seen her in so long that I had no idea what to expect. But this couldn't have started off better. We met 10 minutes later on the couch watching a movie we'd both repeatedly seen, eating Tastykakes and drinking soda.

"So what do you do for a living?" I asked in my best casual voice.

Adriana gave me a look. "Having a little trouble with the rent, are we."

"What makes you say that?"

"Look around. This place is so dull, you'd think it was a storage room. Hell, the nicest room in here is the bathroom and that's not saying a lot."

I looked at her with surprise while she laughed at my expression. She was always was perceptive. Maybe too much I'd like to think.

"So you still wanna know what my job is?" Adriana questioned after she stopped laughing.

"Yeah." I answered.

She paused. "Promise you won't laugh."

"I won't. Now tell me."

"I...baby-sit."

"What?"

"Babysitting. I baby-sit for a living. That's my job."

There was a tense pause as I struggled not to laugh. I mean, I promised I wouldn't so it be wrong of me to do so. I'm proud to say I managed to keep my laughter in check…for about 10 seconds. After that, there was no stopping me.

"Stephanie!" cried Adriana. "You promised!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" I held my breath until my laughing died down. "Sorry. It's just that I can't believe you'd actually choose to spend time watching kids."

"It's not as troubling as it sounds. Eddie once paid me $500 for the 5 hours I spent with his kids."

"Shirley's kids? Oh, that must have been awful."

"Her children aren't that bad. They're just a little…energetic."

"They're terrors."

"Okay, so what do you do miss Stephanie Plum?"

"I'm a bounty hunter."

Adriana almost choked on her soda. "You're a what!"

"Bounty hunter. Well, I guess bond enforcement agent would be the appropriate term."

I then proceeded to explain to her everything I knew about my occupation. What I did, who I worked with, and so on. My cousin was literally struck speechless—something I didn't think could happen—through the whole thing up until I mentioned who I worked for.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out!" She interrupted. "Vinnie? YOU work for Vinnie? Our Vinnie? The one engaged to Harry the Hammer's daughter? That Vinnie?"

"The one and only." I replied.

"Why? Why work for him? Aren't there any other bonding agencies you can get a job at?"

"Nope. I'm pretty sure he's the only one I can work for. Anyway, it's actually a pretty good job. I get paid a lot of money when I bring in the FTAs."

"FTAs?"

"Failure to Appear. That's what we call the skips."

"Wow…I can't believe you're a bounty hunter. Hey, you think I could get a job with Vinnie?"

"What?"

"Yeah! That'd be a great idea. I'd been meaning to talk to him again anyway."

"I don't know Ria. Being a bounty hunter is not an easy job. And it can be dangerous. Believe me, I know."

"Yeah…but so is being a cop and I tried to be one so I know the basics. Like how to use a gun for instance."

"I really don't think it's a good idea."

"Steph, I baby-sit for a living, okay? I frigging baby-sit! I need another job and this is perfect. What do you say? Can you get Vinnie to hook me up? Please?

I looked at Adriana and I really had to think about it. I knew if I took care of kids for their parents everyday I'd want another job too. But I think about all the dangerous situations I was put into. All the fear and anxiety and I made up my mind. Adriana shouldn't have to go through that. I simply shook my head and firmly said no. She protested but when I refused to change my mind, she gave up. We were a bit tense after that and I knew she was mad at me. One of the main differences about us is that whenever Adriana gets pissed, she likes to give the silent treatment. A big difference with a lot of the people I know who all like to yell when angry, including myself. I decided not to try and talk to her. It never worked before and I didn't expect it to now. After more silence, I couldn't take it anymore. I figured I'd need to leave and let her cool down and what better way than to go after some FTAs. There were still at least two that I hadn't yet caught and now was a good a time as any.

"Hey, Adriana." I said as I headed to the door. "I'm going to go to work. Will you be okay on your own?"

She shrugged her shoulders and mumbled something in Italian and I knew she'd be like this for a while.

"I'll see you later then."

Adriana didn't answer like I expected and I headed out the door with a sigh. I checked out the files and decided to go for FTA #2. Wanted for Drunken Disorderly Conduct. I sighed. This was great. Another drunk. These never went well. I had just gotten the car on the way when my cell phone rang. It was Morelli.

"Where have you been?" I could feel a little hint of annoyance in his tone.

"At the airport. I'm on the way to get an FTA right now."

"I've been trying to get in touch with you all day. Why haven't you answered your phone?"

"I turned it off. I needed the concentration." I smirked. "Why? Were you worried?"

"Yeah, I was."

"Sorry. How can I make it up to you?"

"I can come up with something. How about you come over?"

"Hmm, I'd love to but now's not a good time. I've got my roommate to worry about."

"Roommate? Since when did you have a roommate?"

"Since this afternoon. That's why I was at the airport. I had to pick her up. You won't believe who it is."

"Try me."

"It's Adriana."

"Adriana? Little Adriana?"

"So you do remember her."

"How can I forget? She was like a miniature you."

"Well, she's not so little anymore." I pause. "Listen, I'm almost at my skip's location. I'll talk to you later."

* * *

_Adriana_

I was so not in a good mood. And with good reason. At least, I thought so. It was unfair that Stephanie wouldn't recommend me to Vinnie. It wasn't like I said I had to be a bounty hunter. There were bound to be other positions at Vinnie's place of employment. And what was worse was that she treated me like a kid. She always did that when we were kids and I hated it as much as I do now. Fuming, I stomped around the little apartment and raided the fridge. If nothing else worked, I could always stuff myself with junk food. Not that Steph's fridge had anything else. Boy, was she poor. It's no wonder she was happy to have a roommate. I managed to find some food and plopped myself back on the couch. As I ate, I suddenly had a thought. I couldn't just give up getting a job with Vinnie. If I wanted it so bad, I'd have to try to persuade Stephanie to let our perverted cousin agree to it. Just like that, various ideas popped into my head with ease. Yeah, I knew just what I'd do.

Hours later, I heard a key in the door. That meant Stephanie must be coming home. Now was my chance. I got up to meet her at the door and waited for it to open. But once it did, the person I saw was not my cousin. It was a man. I blinked a bit confused and slightly edgy. What was a man doing with a key to Stephanie's apartment? And why wasn't I informed? And why was he looking at me like that? All familiar like. Was he crazy?

"Adriana?" said the guy.

I blinked in surprise. He knew my name? Suddenly, I recognized him. It hit me hard and full force.

"Joseph?" I whispered softly. "Joseph Morelli?"

He nodded and then I did something I'm not sure how to explain. Okay, that's not entirely true. I could explain. I was pissed and when I'm pissed I tend to do stuff without thinking. But really I have no idea what came over me when I punched him. That's right. I said it. I punched Joseph Morelli. It happened so fast it was like a dream. One moment I was staring at the guy and the next I pulled my arm back and connected my fist right into his face. I don't even remember the contact. He went down pretty good and my guess is that he had to get pretty stunned in order to fall like that. Quite simply because I'm just not that strong. It would have been nice if that was all that happened, but nope. Nostrils flaring and glaring many daggers at the stunned Joseph, I snapped at him:

"Filthy Womanizing Pig!"

Then I reached into the door, snatched the keys that he left and firmly slammed the door.

* * *

Dude! Did Adriana just do what she thought she did? Yep! She did! Talk about a way to meet again! Ouch! I wonder what'll happen now. Just wait 'til chapter 2! 


	2. More Drama

Next up! Chapter 2. I really thought I could wait but it was no good. The ideas in my head were driving me nuts! Absolutely nuts! So here we go.

Disclaimer: Yeah, right!

* * *

_Adriana_

I was totally freaking out. Tremendously. I'd never been so freaked in my entire life but there it was. What did I just do? I punched the crap out of Joseph Morelli, that's what I did. What the hell is the matter with me? Stupid Adriana. Stupid, stupid, stupid Adriana. I honestly don't know what came over me. It was like I was possessed by some evil entity. I couldn't stop myself! Groaning, I retreated to the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. What have I done?

And then I heard it. The door! It was opening again! Edgy, I cautiously got up and snuck into the living room staying at the corner. Was I worried Morelli was coming back in or Stephanie, I don't know. But I know I was on the verge of utter panic. Once it opened though, I was quite relieved actually at the sight of Stephanie. But only for a moment. Because right behind her was Joseph looking quite perturbed and toting a black eye. Holy crap! Did I really hit him that hard? Now, I probably should have repented right there. Asked for forgiveness and the works, but no. I didn't. Instead, I had to pretty much repeat the entire incident. All that anger came rushing back full force

"Oh." I said to Joseph. "You're back. Ready for round two?"

And I marched over to meet him at the door. I would have made it too but Stephanie intervened.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out!" she exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on. I'm just planning to teach a lesson to our #1 womanizing pig."

Joseph simply held up his hands defensively and stepped back. "Hey, calm down. I'm not like that anymore."

To say the least, I was surprised. The Joseph Morelli I knew would have been yearning to fight with me. In fact, I kinda expected it when I saw how obviously upset he was. It's something I was actually known for. Getting in fights with the Morelli men. That's what basically set me apart from all the other Burg females.

"Yeah right!"

"Would someone tell me what I missed?" demanded Stephanie a but huffily. She turned to face Joseph. "What happened to your eye? And Adriana, what is your problem?"

"My eye is due to Adriana's sucker punch." Joseph replied.

"My problem?" I exclaim interrupting any other comments. "Like you really have to ask! It's because he's in this apartment that's my problem. Why did you let him in anyway?"

For the first time in my life, I saw a hint of hesitation on Stephanie's part. "Because he's sorta my boyfriend."

I gaped. "Boyfriend? Are you kidding me! Please tell me you're kidding."

"Nope. I'm not."

"But…Stephanie! He's the enemy! Is this or is this not the guy who took your virginity at age 18 and then left without warning? And is he not the guy that you ran over with an SUV or whatever that car was because he deserved it?"

"Yeah"—

"And you're telling me that now you two are…are…in an intimate relationship!"

"Well, yeah."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing."

"Look, you heard him. He's different now."

"I can _not_ believe what I'm hearing."

And wouldn't you know it, this is when a completely off topic thought crosses my cousin's mind.

"Hey, Joe. I'd been meaning to ask you. What happened to your keys?"

Joseph then had the nerve to give me a look before speaking. "She," He gestured to me. "Took them."

"You're damn right I took them!" I added in. "And you aren't getting them back either!"

"Adriana, give back the keys." Stephanie told me.

"No! You may allow him in but if I'm gonna be living here I don't want him to come and go as he pleases."

"Adriana!"

Once again Stephanie was giving an order to me like when we were kids. Only now, I was too pissed and emotionally worn to argue. "You know what? Fine!" I yanked the keys out of my pocket. "You want the fucking keys? Here! Take the fucking keys!"

And with that, I hurled them straight at Joseph's head then turned and stomped into the bedroom locking it behind me.

I admit it. I was losing it here. What had I missed when I was gone? I go to another state for 4 frigging years and the world goes crazy without me. I was officially struck speechless. I had nothing more to say. There was nothing I could say anyway. Closing my eyes, I buried my head into a pillow to stem the tears that I convinced myself weren't coming. I knew this moving in was a bad idea. I just knew it.

* * *

_Stephanie_

I flinched when the keys smacked Morelli clear on the forehead. I'll give you one thing about Adriana, her aim was always on target. For a moment, there was only silence between Morelli and me. And then he decided to break it.

"Wow." He said softly and I knew he was as lost in emotions as I was.

Sighing, I picked up the keys and handed them back. "Sorry about that."

He shook his head. "It's no big deal." He looked towards my bedroom and shook his head. "I came by to try and visit her. I didn't think she'd react like this." He paused. "I guess I'll leave you two alone to get this straightened out."

"Yeah, that's probably best."

He nodded and headed out. When Morelli had gone, I walked to the bedroom and tried the knob. Locked. Of course. Gently I knocked.

"Adriana." I called.

No answer.

"Listen, Adriana open up. I need to talk to you."

Silence.

I let out an impatient sigh and decided to forget it. I so did not need this. She'd have to get over it. I wasn't her babysitter. I was her cousin/roommate. Shaking my head, I gathered my bags and left. I had yet to cash my bond and the rent was a little low.

I made it to Vinnie's in record time and surprised myself. Heading in, I welcomed the sight of my two co-workers.

"Damn, girl! What happened to you?" asked my sometimes partner Lula. "You look like you need to lie down."

"Lula's right." added in my other friend, Connie. "You look like hell. Another FTA get away from you?"

I snorted. "I wish. I've got roommate issues."

"You got a roommate?" asked Lula. "Who?"

"A cousin of mine. Her name's Adriana."

The door to Vinnie's office swung opened and Vinnie poked his head out. "Adriana? Little Adriana? She's here? In Jersey!"

"Yep. She wanted to move back in but there was the issue of a place to stay. So our parents came up with the idea to have her move in with me and here we are."

"Man…don't you have all the luck."

"No kidding."

Vinnie retreated back into his office as Connie once again destroyed on of his money bugs that he liked to plant. "So what exactly happened that's got you so stressed?"

"Well, she had a little run-in with Morelli. It didn't go quite so nicely."

"Why wasn't it quite so nice?"

"She gave him a black eye before he could even get into the apartment."

Lula burst out laughing. "Hey, I like the sound of that girl. Maybe I should meet her."

"If you want."

After a little more talking, I got my check from Connie and headed out. On the way back to the apartment, I passed by a harsh accident that kept me in place for a good 30 minutes. By the time I got there, I was way too exhausted. Parking my car, I immediately headed out and trudged into the building. Too tired for the stairs I decided on the elevator which was actually just as long but at least it meant I didn't have to move. I got to my apartment and walked in dropping my things onto the couch. When I got to the bedroom I was more than relieved to find that it was unlocked. Dressing into sleepwear, I crawled into bed next to Adriana and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

_Adriana_

I've always been a light sleeper. Even when I was just a kid. I also sleepwalked as well so maybe that was a reason. On the contrary, I was also a very deep sleeper. If I didn't want to wake up, you couldn't get me to no matter how hard you tried. I guess in that way I'm a pretty complex person. Either way, I had it pretty good. Although there were always times where I wish I was deep when I was light and vice versa. Now will be one of those times.

I was snoozing deep in my dreams. I had a hell of a time dozing off but once I got there I was absolutely content. Or at least, I assume I was. Anyway, I had buried myself deep under the blankets with my head next to Stephanie's shoulder when suddenly they were yanked off. Hard. The abruptness of it snapped my eyes opened and I stirred awake with confusion covering all my movements. Plus there was some anger. Because quite frankly, I'm a very cranky woman when I don't get my sleep and I wasn't getting any. Stephanie had also awoken with me in confusion though in place of anger was simply grogginess. That all changed when at the exact same instant our eyes found a man standing over our bed hidden in darkness. He was smiling. At least for a second as he looked at Steph, but the smile instantly changed to a look of confusion of his own when he spotted me, I noticed. Still synchronized, both Steph and I shrieked at the top of our lungs. However, unlike Stephanie who was still in the bed, I rolled in a panic and grabbed the first thing I could get my hands on and immediately started wailing on him with it. It turned out to be a pillow. Now how pathetic is that? A man breaks in and I attack him with a pillow. I don't know what I was thinking. I should have tried to find something harder but I guess I was too panicked. Anyway, I was basically hitting this guy with a pillow and still shrieking when all of a sudden, Stephanie yelled at me to stop. Stop? What was she nuts? But she pried the pillow from my hands and the guy rolled away from the bed. I was instantly about to protest when the light was switched on temporarily blinding me. When I got my sight back, my robe was in my lap while Stephanie was out of bed wrapped in a robe and wearing an amused smirk on her face. She was looking at the man who didn't look entirely happy what with the feathers and what not all over him. In fact, he looked very much like Joseph did when I punched him in the face. It was enough to bring a smile to my face followed surprisingly by a giggle. When they heard me, both Stephanie and the man looked at me and she laughed while he cut his eyes to her. Actually a pleasant moment but remembering that he was an intruder I instantly got all irate and alarmed. What was she doing talking to him anyway? Noticing this, Stephanie quickly spoke up.

"Hey, it's okay Adriana. I told you." she said.

"How is it okay? That guy broke in!" I protested now wearing my robe.

"He's a friend. That's what makes it okay."

"A friend? What!"

The man got up and I got a better look at him. Tall, Cuban, dressed in nothing but black, menacing looking. And she says this guy is harmless?

"Adriana, this is Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Otherwise known as Ranger. He's my boss/mentor/friend. Ranger, this is Adriana. She's my cousin/roommate."

"Nice to meet you, Adriana." Ranger said as he held out his hand.

I didn't take it but just eyed him critically as he put it down. "Really? Well, Mr. Manoso. Let me ask you this. Do you always break into your friends' places?"

"Not always." Ranger replied. "Stephanie and I have an…arrangement." He suddenly gave her a look. "If I'd known we had a new resident, I would have called."

Stephanie smiled apologetically. "Sorry. I would've told you but you weren't at Vinnie's and I didn't have time to call."

I was outraged. "Stephanie! Don't you apologize! You don't have to explain yourself to him! Hell, he broke in here so if anything HE should be apologizing to you!" And I gave him a really choice glare.

Ranger then did something that surprised me. He smiled. Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a smile. It didn't seem to fit his expression. More like a semi-smile. With just a little curving of the mouth. Either way, it showed one fact. He was amused which pissed me off. I was just about ready to bite his head off when he brought up the reason he stopped by. He wanted to talk to Stephanie. By the way they acted I knew automatically that he meant in private. Well, that was just too damn bad because there was no way I was gonna leave him alone with my cousin. So-called friend or not. I told them both that, which resulted in a very long debate where Stephanie and I basically did all the talking while Ranger just stood there looking entertained. In the end, I was convinced that nothing bad would happen and reluctantly I let them go. Frowning, I let out another one of my many sighs and just hopped back into bed. There was nothing else I could do. As usual. Best to just go back to sleep. If possible. As I began to drift off once again, I came up with a single thought about Ranger Manoso.

I _hated_ that guy!

* * *

Man! First Joseph and now Ranger. Life just isn't going well for these guys, is it? Bet you can't guess what'll happen? No worries though, because I will gladly fill you in as the story continues. Don't forget to review me! 


	3. Two men?

Speeding up and moving on to chapter 3! What's gonna happen with Stephanie and Adriana now? Only one way to find out!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

* * *

_Stephanie_

I woke up the next morning earlier than I thought I would. After what happened the night before, I kinda didn't think I'd get much sleep. But when I woke up, I was pleasantly relaxed. I got out of bed and went straight to the bathroom for a shower. Wrapped in a towel, I went back to the bedroom to find Adriana still asleep. I always knew she was a pretty deep sleeper. Even when we were kids, she'd never want to wake up. Not unless there were cartoons on and then she'd fall right back to sleep as soon as they were over. There was just no getting to her. I smiled at the memories and looked at my sleeping cousin. Hard to believe that just yesterday we were both a bit pissed off at each other. Almost made me want to apologize. Almost. I quietly put on my clothes and decided to head out. It was best not to try and wake Adriana. She tended to get violently cranky and after what happened last night with Ranger, I felt I did not need to get beaten with a pillow. Gently I closed the door, said goodbye to Rex and headed out.

I actually didn't feel like going after any skips today. There were just way too many low level bonds right now and since Ranger only went have the high bonds, that left a lot of work for me. And to be honest, I was exhausted. So instead of going to Vinnie's, I decided a trip to my parent's house was in order. Now that I thought about it, I figured they'd want to know how things are going with Adriana so far. As though on a signal, my phone rang.

"Hey mom. I was just thinking about you." I answered.

"I was just wondering how you and Adriana are doing." My mother said. "Getting along, I hope?"

I thought about the events of yesterday. "Yeah, mom. We're getting along great." A blatant lie but she didn't need to know that.

"Wonderful. So, I'll see you at dinner?"

"Dinner?"

"Of course, you're coming. How else do you expect Adriana to join us?"

"Adriana?"

"Stephanie Plum!" My mother's voice was stern. "Are you telling me that you've forgotten? We were having a welcome dinner for her."

"No. No, I haven't forgotten." Who was I kidding? I didn't just forget. I threw it out of my mind like she never told me! "It's just…couldn't someone else probably drive her?"

"Are you expecting your cousin, who hasn't seen anything except the Burg, to wander around Jersey with a complete stranger? Is that what you want? Because there's no one else that's going to be able to drive her. And what if she gets lost? She'll never make it and Cassandra and Lorenzo are expecting her. Would you like to tell them that their daughter can't be here because their niece is too lazy to drive her?"

Uncle Lorenzo and Aunt Cassandra. Adriana's parents. So that was why my mother was trying to guilt trip me. This was serious. Adriana and I are first cousins. Her mother is the younger sister of my father. It's actually funny because she's like his female counterpart and the only one who can actually get him to show emotion to an extent. That we know of anyway. But Aunt Cassandra is also the only one that's quite good at calming my mother down simply because she's like her in temperament. Which can be quite a hassle. Like having a clone of my mother. Not a good thought. Uncle Lorenzo is milder than the rest of us. I guess he's in the middle of the emotions chain. Actually compared to us he's actually quite normal. But when it comes to certain things, both my aunt and uncle can be quite set in their ways. Like family things for example. And now that I really thought about it, I didn't want to be the one to say their daughter couldn't see them. Not with how much they'd been hoping for it ever since she called to say she was heading back to Jersey.

I sighed. "Okay mom. We'll both be there."

"Good. Don't be late."

After we disconnected, I sighed again and parked my car. During the entire conversation, I found myself getting quite stressed and figured I needed a breather. So I ended up taking a detour to the bakery. Going in, I felt increasingly better just by the smell of the delicious sugar and calories. As I browsed to find something to treat myself to, I started thinking about Adriana. In all my life I've never known anyone who enjoyed sweets as much as I did, but I'll you something. Adriana is definitely close. We actually used to have minor squabbles over who'd get the last cookie, the last brownie, the last Tastykake. If I didn't buy her anything while I bought me stuff, she usually bit my head off and vice versa. When it came my turn, I went for a dozen Boston cream donuts and a dozen Macadamia Nut cookies. Yeah, I was being a softie but I knew Adriana would hate me if I didn't bring her something. Going out to my car, I spotted a car drive up. A minute later, I was face to face with Morelli.

"Donuts and cookies?" He asked, eyeing my goods with a quirk eyebrow.

"I'm sharing them with Adriana." I told him.

"You two getting along now?"

"Not really. But the way I see it, I'd only make it worse if I didn't give her some sweets. You know how much she loves them."

"Here's an idea. How about you two take a break from each other?"

"Break? But it hasn't even been 24 hours." And then I saw that Morelli was getting that look. "Oh no. No way."

"Why not?"

"Are you kidding? I've got my cousin staying with me. We're sharing the bed."

"We could use the couch."

"She'd be in the next room. Forget it. I'd be mortified."

"Well…you wouldn't have to worry about that if you came to my house."

"I can't just leave when I've got a roommate. I'll have to explain what I'm up to."

"Adriana's a big girl. She can handle it."

"Did you forget about yesterday? I've still gotta convince her that you've got a nice side. Getting together now will just upset her and we'll never reconcile."

"Steph, it's nice that you care what your cousin thinks but don't let it go overboard."

"I'm not. I just want us to start being friendly again. The only times we actually have any peace is when one of us is asleep." I paused. "Hey, why don't you come to dinner tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Our parents are throwing Adriana a welcome home dinner today. This can be your chance to try and talk to her. You know, without worrying about her trying to beat the shit out of you."

Morelli thought about it then nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. What time?"

"9:00." I checked my watch. "I'd better see how she's doing. She was asleep when I left and will probably wonder where I am."

* * *

_Adriana_

I stared at the buildings on Hamilton Avenue with a bit of surprise. So this was where the bail bonds office was? Okay, I admit it. I wasn't that surprised. After all, this was Vincent Plum. Our dear, sweet cousin Vinnie. Except he wasn't sweet or dear at all. He was rather the outcast of the family tree. We were related to him but it didn't mean anyone needed to know it.

I'd woken up to find that Stephanie had gone out. Leaving me alone in the apartment and basically stranded there. Normally, I probably wouldn't mind but there was nothing to do. At all. She had a TV but there wasn't a damn thing to watch. And I was pretty sure Steph didn't have any cable or satellite TV. There was no food. Nothing good to eat anyway. Everything else was the equivalent of hamster food. I usually took naps when boredom descended but I really didn't want to do that. So, I decided to leave. I had to get out or I'd go nuts. Gathering my pocketbook, I took the time to feed Rex since I'm totally crazy about hamsters and headed to the phone to call a taxi. When I hopped into the yellow car, I hadn't exactly planned to go over to Vinnie's job. I wanted to just drive around but the next thing I knew, I requested a drive there and now here I was.

I walked into the bail bonds office and looked around. It was actually a pretty large building which I have to say, also astonished me. And then I saw two women out in the corridor. One of them I recognized. She used to got to school with Stephanie and I saw her around a lot.

"Excuse me?" I said to the Italian one. "Are you Connie?"

She looked up at me. "Yeah." Then her eyes suddenly widened. "Adriana?"

I smiled. "Hey! It's been a while."

"Yeah, how have you been?"

"Fine, actually."

The African American woman came up to me. I did my best not to stare but boy was it hard! Fortunately for me, she didn't seem to mind.

"So, you're Adriana huh?" She greeted. "Stephanie told us about you. I'm Lula."

"Nice to meet you. Listen, I came by to see Vinnie. Is he in?"

The door suddenly opened up behind Connie's chair and out stepped my perverted cousin. "Adriana!"

All right. I have to say it. Vinnie is the most creepy, lecherous, awful being I've ever had the misfortune to know. But still, he's family and suffice it to say, I love him. So, I did something that I'm pretty sure no other relatives of mine have ever done with this guy. I hugged him. I ran over and hugged him. It's not something I'm prone to do and whether or not I'm proud of it is very questionable. Plus, it didn't help that out of my peripheral vision I was basically being gaped at by Connie and Lula. But I did and that's that.

"What made you come back to Jersey?" He asked me.

"Oh nothing really. I just missed everyone. That's all."

And that was basically true. Of course, it also helped that I'd finished college a year ago and I was a bit tired of the Colorado scenery.

"I see you've your own business."

"Yep. I run it pretty good."

Lula and Connie rolled their eyes and both snorted. Vinnie ignored them and I did the best to do so. Not much luck though. I decided to change the subject.

"Is it true that you have a bail bonds agency? Or…a bounty hunting agency? And is it true that you have Stephanie working for you?"

"Yes. And yes."

I cocked my eyebrow. "Huh. How she'd manage that?"

"Blackmail."

"Blackmail? What she threaten?"

"To tell my wife about… you know?"

"Oh…I get it. Triggering death by her dear father, Harry the Hammer."

He nodded and I couldn't help but smirk. So Stephanie had to make Vinnie give her this job. Interesting. Very interesting. By this time, Vinnie went back to his office and I heard the door behind me open. We all turned to find Stephanie coming in.

"There you are!" she exclaimed to me. "I went to the apartment and you weren't there."

"I got tired of having nothing to do. So I thought I'd visit Vinnie." I gave her a look. "So…How exactly did you get this job? Vinnie was all for it, right?"

"Oh…" Stephanie blushed. Something I never thought I'd see. "You heard?"

"I heard." I focused on the door of Vinnie's office keeping my back to her.

Before we could actually get into this conversation like I'd hoped, something seemed to make everyone freeze. And then I felt this really weird feeling. Not exactly creepy. Just… like someone's intense presence. I looked up to find Lula and Connie staring behind me and Stephanie. Curious, I turned around and spotted something displeasing. Ranger. It would have been nice to have some discretion but I had none inside me.

"You again!" I blurted out in shock and indignation. I apparently had no common sense either because I was actually walking over to kick his ass. A guy who I was pretty sure is twice my size and a million times as scary. Goes to show what anger will do to you.

Stephanie snagged my arm. "Ana." she warned.

Fortunately for her—and me—I didn't try to approach him. But if looks could kill, he'd have been skewered by now. "What are you doing here?" My voice was actually quite chilly I'm proud to say.

I'm also proud to say that Ranger looked quite surprised at my reaction to him. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it bothered him. But that didn't last because once again he was back to amused. I swear, if Stephanie hadn't been tugging my arm I'm pretty sure I would have tackled him.

"I work here." Ranger answered me simply.

"You work here?" I echoed. "No way." I turned to Stephanie. "You never told me you worked with him!"

"Yes I did." she responded. "Don't you remember? I said he was my boss and my friend."

I paused suddenly remembering. She did say all that. I felt suddenly embarrassed and averted my eyes. He probably thought I was strange now. Well, who cares what he thinks? He just a creep. I really hated this guy. I decided to get as far away from Ranger Manoso as possible. If I stayed any longer, I'd lose my temper, which was never good. I went behind Connie's desk which seemed far enough and waited for him to leave. I hadn't exactly planned on listening in to their conversation. It was just that Ranger was so freakin' close to my cousin. Hell, she was practically underneath him and pressed against him. I didn't want to. But I just couldn't help myself.

"A little much on the sweets, aren't you?" he asked.

Sweets? That was my first thought. What could I say, I loved them. And if Stephanie got a lot then that meant some for me! And then it got a little…shocking.

"I needed something to perk me up." Stephanie replied.

Ranger gave Stephanie this really suggestive look that got my attention instantly. "I could make sure you didn't need sweets."

My eyes couldn't have jumped out of my head any more had I been a cartoon character. Did he just say what I think he just said? No. It couldn't be. Doesn't he know about her boyfriend? And wait a minute. Why is my cousin acting all…all…flustered? Hell, why is everyone else doing it too?

"It's a generous offer, but I'll have to pass." my cousin answered. A bit too slowly. Please don't tell me she was actually tempted!

And then the most outrageous thing happened that almost made me lose my balance and fall over. He kissed her! I could not believe what I was seeing. There was no way. How the hell could this bastard be so damn bold! And was Stephanie kissing back? No… at least I don't think so. But she wasn't exactly resisting either. With all these thoughts, one wouldn't imagine that the kiss was short. Yeah, it was only like for a minute and it wasn't like a French kiss but still… I can't believe it. Ranger left after that. I was shocked to the point where I couldn't move. Stephanie seemed to have forgotten all about me. But suddenly, she was aware again. I found that I couldn't bring myself to ask her about this. I don't know why. Maybe because it probably shouldn't be my business? Whatever the reason I focused back on the positive stuff.

"About those sweets…" I asked Stephanie.

She laughed then said she'd go and get some. When she left, I immediately turned my sights on Lula and Connie. "What the hell was that?" I hissed.

"What's what?" asked Lula.

"That thing with Stephanie and Ranger?"

"Oh, that's nothing new." replied Connie. "It's been going on for a while."

I was getting more startled. "But what about Joseph?" I said kinda to myself. "She can't just do that to him."

Now I don't know what the hell was up with me. Was I actually sympathizing with the infamous Joseph Morelli? A man who probably cheated on plenty of women plenty of times and probably deserved to be cheated on? I should have been thrilled. Singing the words of karma. But I couldn't shake the sad feeling about him and his broken heart.

"Oh, he knows about it." chimed in Lula comfortingly.

I gaped. "He knows? What do you mean, he knows?"

"He knows about Ranger and Stephanie. In fact, everyone does."

"Excuse me?"

"Let me explain." soothed Connie.

I then got a very complicated story about Ranger, Stephanie and Morelli and romance that was so freaky, it could actually pass for a soap opera. Jersey style. When Connie was done, I was stunned.

"Morelli and Ranger are attracted to Stephanie." I said to clarify what I heard.

"That's right."

"Stephanie is attracted to both of them."

"Yeah."

"She's slept with both at least once."

"Yep."

"And the men are actually okay with this?" I was incredulous. "Seriously?"

"Well, I wouldn't say they're okay. But there isn't gonna be any killing or stuff like that any time soon."

Flabbergasted again, that's me. So this is the situation. This is what my cousin has been doing with her life. All of this happened while I was in Colorado. Between Joseph Anthony Morelli and Ranger/Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Jesus Christ! What the hell kind of city did I move back into!

* * *

That's the end of chapter 3! Did you like? I took someone's advice and made it longer! It's my longest chapter so far. But I plan to make it longer. Stay tuned. #4 is on its way! 


	4. Dinner and Death

We'll dig a little deeper into the chaos. Will Adriana ever get along with Morelli and Ranger?

* * *

_Stephanie_

I was feeling a bit nervous. Why? Adriana. She was not acting like herself at all. I knew she was really thinking about this issue with my love life. Connie let me know about the explanation she gave and I returned to the car with the intention of bracing myself for words. But that's what surprised me. Adriana didn't talk. She didn't say anything at all. She didn't even mention it. I was worried because of it. Unlike the rest of our family, Adriana never really showed her feelings. True, our family never did much of that anyway but we could let out the anger and stress. At least that much. Adriana on the other hand didn't even do that. It was a big concern because it tended to build and build until it exploded. Never a good sign with her. So driving in my car with my cousin who was not showing anything but indifference made me very uneasy.

"Adriana?" I began.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Are you okay?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just don't seem like yourself. That's all."

"I'm just a little tired. No big deal."

We fell silent once again and she looked out the window to get lost in her thoughts. I dropped her off at the apartment and escorted her in. When she collapsed onto the bed and closed her eyes I knew she'd be out for a moment. Still concerned but not pushing it, I left her some cookies and headed out once again. This time, I was going out FTA hunting. Target: Eugene Kellogg. Crime: Vandalism and destruction of property. Hmm. That actually didn't sound so bad. Even when I found that it was at his ex fiancée's property that he destroyed and vandalized. I checked my file and found out he'd be at the mall. When I discovered what store, I double checked to make sure I wasn't mistaken. Nope. Eugene worked in a women's lingerie store. This was going to be interesting.

I drove to the mall feeling slightly surprised. I figured a guy would love to sell women's underwear. But then again, this was Jersey. I parked my car and went into the mall. Finding the store no problem, I went inside to search. I didn't have to look hard. Eugene was standing near the entrance helping the other ladies choose their lingerie. He was a short man. Shorter than me and wearing your classic comb over to hide the fact he was going bald. I could see why he destroyed something though. He looked real depressed. I almost didn't want to get him but I needed money. I walked over.

"Eugene Kellogg?" I asked politely.

He turned to me in the customary greeting of a store worker. "Can I help you? Ah, I know." He snagged some silk panties off a rack and shoved them in my face. "How about this? You look like a woman who enjoys comfort."

I was staring awkwardly at the underwear. If there's one thing I just couldn't deal with, it was having an old guy shove panties in my face. Although, I had to admit it did look nice. And I haven't worn silk in a very long time…Oh, no! Bad Stephanie. Focus woman. Focus.

"Thank you, but I'm not here for the lingerie." I told him. "My name's Stephanie Plum and I work for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds Service. You missed a court date and you need to reschedule."

His face seemed to turn red with embarrassment. "Aw, Jeez. I forgot. Listen, can't we do this later?"

"I'm sorry. But we've gotta do this now."

"I'm working!"

I sighed. "Okay, how about this? Why don't we go to the station and I'll Vinnie to bond you out."

"He'd do that?"

"Sure."

Liar, liar, liar! I had no idea if Vinnie would do that. For all I knew, he'd be busy or wouldn't do just he because he pissed at me. Still…A woman had to make money, didn't she?

Eugene looked at me thoughtfully. "Alright. I'll go."

I had to resist the urge to giggle like crazy. Calmly, I put the cuffs on him and led him out to my car. I got to the station in record time, left Kellogg with the docket office and happily walked out with my body receipt.

Well, there went the easy part. Now time to go back to the hard part. My drunken disorderly conduct guy, Tony Rea, had been nowhere around when I last went to track him down. Maybe this time would be different. I found his house all the way across town in Carter street. Apartment 2114. This was the first place I checked yesterday and Tony wasn't there. Nor was he there the day before. But you know what they say…third time's a charm. I went to the apartment and just barely knocked when the door swung open. Uh oh. This couldn't be good. An unlocked door? Cautiously, I peeked in but found the place normal. Now I was confused. I should probably have left. But I wanted to know what happened in here. I couldn't shake the feeling I was missing something. So I went in gripping my gun in my pocketbook just in case. Not that I could really use it any good but you never know. Maybe the intruder was wielding a knife. I went around from the kitchen to the bedroom and every other place with nothing. That basically left one other place. The bathroom. I don't know what made me save that for last. Maybe because I had a bad feeling about what I'd find. I reluctantly went to the door and opened it up. Turned out I was right. Submerged in the bathtub was none other than Tony Rea naked and drowned. At the sight, I freaked and without thinking, I crouched to the side and plunged my hands in to feel for a pulse while lifting him out. It was a futile move and part of me knew that but I had to check anyway. Realizing it was too late, I walked out of the bathroom and leaned against the wall sliding to the floor. I was nauseated. And it wasn't because Tony was nude although that was a nasty sight. I couldn't believe he was dead. Queasy, I managed to get out and dial 911. My hands were so busy shaking that it was a wonder I could get it right on the first try. Afterwards, I spent the time waiting by pacing rapidly.

10 minutes later, the police, ambulances and Medical Examiners were inside examining the scene and I was outside talking with Morelli. He was officially wearing his cop face and I knew he wasn't happy.

"Why don't you tell me what happened."

"I was coming to take Tony to reschedule his court date. When I got here, the door was open so I went in to try and find him and there he was in the tub."

"And your clothes?"

"I was checking to see if he was really dead."

Morelli cocked an eyebrow.

"I was hoping I'd get lucky."

An ME came up to us.

"Suicide."

"Suicide?" I repeated.

"He's filled to the brink with sleeping pills. We found them in the trash."

I probably should have relieved. That meant Tony wasn't murdered and I didn't walk in on a very vicious crime. But the thing was…I didn't understand why Tony would kill himself. It didn't add up. He certainly wasn't the depressed type. Not to me anyway. I just wasn't ready to upset the evidence. Something wasn't right.

Morelli and I left the place and I let out a sigh.

"Are you sure you don't want to come home with me?" he asked.

I looked at him. "No. I definitely want to stay with you." I needed to stay with Morelli for a while. "After dinner, I'll let Adriana know." I just hoped she wouldn't throw a fit about it.

* * *

_Adriana_

I wasn't actually sleepy. Not really. At first, I was but I think most of that had to do with stress. I mean, come on! I'm discovering things that I thought would never happen have happened! All because I went to college in another state for 5 measly years! Okay, so 5 years isn't exactly short but still… one shouldn't be getting it on with the enemy just because time has passed. And further more, one shouldn't be juggling around two different men! What could be so hard about that? Hell, it wasn't like Joseph or Ranger were anything special. Sure, they both had extremely hot bodies with delicious muscles that every girl dreams about and maybe they were pretty nice in the looks department but that was it! Nothing good about their personalities that's for sure. Take Ranger for example. The way he has everyone call him that. What an arrogant prick! Well, I refuse to call him that. He's got two other names that are perfect. I'm so gonna use one of them. See what he thinks about that!

As I was saying, I couldn't sleep. I was never a nap girl and while I tried, it was just no good. So what was I doing to pass the time? Playing with Rex the hamster. Because with Stephanie still having the car and me wishing to save any further money, I had no transportation to go anywhere in particular. There was still nothing on TV and there wasn't a damn thing to eat. I gotta say I was shocked. How could Stephanie not have any food! It was no wonder she wanted me here. We'd need a chunk of my money to survive! I would have gone to get food but no transportation. That left me completely bored. So as I watched Rex tire himself out on his little wheel I decided to spend some time with him. Gingerly, I scooped the hamster in my hand and carried him with me to the couch. He took to me almost instantly snuggling himself within my lap and I was pleasantly enjoying myself. But I wasn't surprised. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with animals. I loved them all. I still do. Even the scary types like snakes and lizards. I brought any and all strays home with me. I have a big fondness for rodents so Rex was a dream. With his beady eyes and tiny whiskers. As I petted him, I found that I was humming the theme song to a cartoon about hamsters that went on adventures and talked. Another effect babysitting did to me. Not that I minded.

I tickled his puny furry belly. "What about you, Rex? Are you having adventures when no one is watching you? Hmm? I wonder what you'd say if you talked."

I was giggling at the picture in my head when the door opened and Stephanie came in.

"How was work?" I asked, looking at her for one second before focusing back on Rex.

"Uneventful." she answered.

I raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. She sure answered me fast. I wonder what she's hiding.

"Are you ready for dinner?"

"Dinner?" I echoed. "What dinner?"

"The one to welcome you home."

"Holy crap! That's today?"

"Yes. And both our parents are going to be there."

I groaned. "Oh man! Give me 2 minutes!"

I jumped up carefully, gently placed Rex securely into his cage and ran into the bedroom to find a suitable outfit. Once I got it, I ran straight to the bathroom and took a 60 second shower. I hopped out without drying off and threw my clothes on as fast as I could. I then shoved my hair into a ponytail, added a little lip gloss and joined my cousin in the living room. I was panting and still struggling to finish putting on my sandals.

"Ready!" I called with a smile.

Stephanie looked at me with a quirked eyebrow then laughed. We headed out together where she basically locked the door and we jumped into her car. Driving quite quickly, to my utmost joy, we headed down into the Burg and parked in front of her parents' house. Looking at each other, we both clutched hands, took calming breaths then stepped out to head into the chaos.

"Adriana!" cooed my aunt Helen. Stephanie's mother.

"Aunt Helen!" I cooed right back.

We hugged and the same happened with the rest of the family. Cousin Valerie squealed and hugged me. Her adorable kids all hugged me. Well, except Mary Alice who, as a horse, didn't give hugs. But she did nuzzle me so I guess that was good. And of course, the baby couldn't hug but she did squeeze my finger which got me squealing. Grandma Mazur greeted me with the same gusto that Aunt Helen did and practically smothered me. Uncle Frank was the only one who didn't give an outburst, which I expected. But he did walk over to hug me with a big grin on his face. Too bad I didn't have a camera because Uncle Frank hardly ever smiles. Ever. And I'd probably never see that again. Oh well. Lastly were my parents. My mother squealed--probably louder than all the females combined--and ran over to hug me as tightly as possible. My father just hugged me and said how glad he was to see me and that was it. By the time all this reuniting was over with, it was time for dinner so we all crammed ourselves at the table. Cram being the operative word here since there was hardly any room for us to place ourselves. Got me to wonder why the hell we weren't someplace else having this dinner. I forgot about the lack of space when the dishes came out. Baked garlic chicken with fettuccini, Spanish rice, salad and Double Dutch chocolate cake for dessert. It was a wonder I didn't drool right there!

I was basically enjoying the meal when the door opened and in stepped in none other than Joseph Morelli. My eyes widened at the sight of him and I'm pretty sure I growled a little. I felt Stephanie give my hand a warning squeeze telling me to calm down. I took a look at her and found she had a pleading expression on her face. Something that she never did unless she was really desperate. Wow, she must really care about this guy. Resigned, I nodded and restrained myself and she smiled at me. What can I say except that seeing her smile because of me got me feeling quite happy. I guess I still wanted her approval. Of course, that didn't mean I was planning on being nice to Joseph. Not gonna happen. But nothing could have prepared for all the reactions he received. The family was actually glad to see him! Not counting Uncle Frank or my mother, who could have cared less about who came in as long as nothing major happened. As for my father, well he was all fine and dandy since Joseph wasn't my romantic interest so he basically wasn't paying attention either. But everyone else! Aunt Helen was practically pampering the guy giving him loads of food. Angie and Mary Alice were hugging all over him and then there was Grandma Mazur. Good thing I'd already swallowed my food or else I may have choked. My God! Was everyone in the Burg convinced that Joseph was a good, changed man! How did this happen? I was busy pondering over this when Grandma Mazur interrupted my thoughts with a particular question that got my attention. In a good way or bad way, I'm not sure.

"So, I heard you found a dead body, Stephanie."

Everything seemed to freeze at the table. Tension was in the air. But Grandma Mazur didn't notice it. Either that or she was ignoring it. I'd got with the former but that's Grandma for you!

"I was at the beauty parlor with the girls and Mabel Stephens told me she heard it from her nephew." continued the old woman like nothing was going was on. "You know that he's an ambulance worker and he had to go over. Maybe you saw him."

Everyone was looking back from Stephanie and Grandma Mazur with the utmost shocked and horrified expressions. Save for Uncle Frank anyway. And my parents who were actually looking on with interest and excitement. Stephanie looked uncomfortable and sheepish. As for me, I was slightly furious. Why? Because Stephanie had basically lied to me! When I was persistently trying to get her to let me work for Vinnie, she specifically told me that I wouldn't like it because it was uneventful anyway. And here I find out, that she ends up finding a dead body on her job! So, I was pretty much glaring at her openly over my plate.

"So how did he go?" asked Grandma. "They said it was suicide but I want to know how he did it. Like did he hang himself, blow his brains out…?"

"That's enough!" yelled Aunt Helen. "No talking about death and bounty hunting at the table! This is a dinner for Adriana. We will not ruin it!"

"You're right, Aunt Helen." I told her. "Oh, that reminds me!" I exclaimed with mock innocence. "Does anyone here know Stephanie's boss?"

"You mean, Vinnie?" questioned Valerie.

"No…her other one. He's tall, wears nothing but black. Cuban American…"

Stephanie's head shot up and she looked at me with shocked eyes.

"Ranger." spoke up Joseph.

"Yeah, that's the one!" I nodded my head. "I've been wondering about him ever since he stopped by unexpectedly last night."

On cue, Joseph narrowed his eyes and gave Steph a look. By this time, my cousin was officially glaring at me and I simply smiled. It was obvious this was a not something she ever wanted Joseph to really know much about. I knew she wasn't gonna be happy but I didn't care one bit. With any luck they'd get in an argument. I hoped so.

The rest of the dinner was kinda uneventful after that. Stephanie and Joseph finished a bit early and headed out to the back door to have a private conversation. If I was a good person, I'd leave them be. But the truth was, I wasn't that good. In fact, I had a lot of bad habits and eavesdropping was one of them. Finishing up my dinner, I excused myself and went towards the bathroom. I soon took a detour and crouched near the doorway to spy the discussion. Much to my disappointment, it seemed that I was too late for the yelling.

"So when are you going to tell her?" Joseph was saying.

"Later." Stephanie replied. "When we get ready to go."

He smiled and suddenly pulled her to him. "Sure, you can't do it sooner? Because I'd really like to get you naked for a while." And then he kissed her. With lots of tongue and everything.

At that point, I swiftly left the scene. I just had one word for that. Ewww! I'm not sure what was worse. Ranger kissing Stephanie or Joseph kissing her. Whatever. Both were equally wrong. And even more wrong was what they were planning. It was ridiculously obvious. She was going to spend the night with Joseph Morelli. And it seemed that she was trying to find the right way to tell me. For a brief spell, I was flattered. Steph was actually cared if I was upset. Swirling these thoughts, I made up my mind.

Half an hour later, it was time for us to go. We all said our goodbyes and starting heading out. I was waving to my parents as they went to their house when Stephanie came up to me.

"Adriana." she began. "Listen, Morelli and I…"

"You want to have some intimacy with him. Tonight." I finished up for her. "It's okay. Go for it."

She looked at me with surprise. "Seriously?"

"Why not?" I laughed. "You're obviously crazy about the guy. If it works for you, then do it. Besides, you're a grown woman. A woman older than me by the way. You don't need my permission." I smiled. "Don't worry. I won't bite your head off for it. Even if he is the enemy. Unless it'll happen in the apartment. It won't, will it?"

Steph smiled at me then gave me a hug filled with gratitude assuring me that it wouldn't be in the apartment. It made me wish for things to get better for us. We then came up with an arrangement. Stephanie was going to ride in Joseph's car for obvious reasons and I'd take her car back to our place. Handing me the keys, she told me to me to call her when I got there and gave me Joseph's home number. Once I said goodbye to them both, I hopped into Steph's car and drove off.

You're probably wondering why I was so calm about all this. Well, to be honest I wasn't as okay as I looked. Yeah, I was to an extent but the main reason was to benefit me. I felt that Stephanie and I needed some space. Big time. If we kept this up, it wouldn't be long before we started getting into fights. Something we hadn't done since middle school. I figured it'd be pretty pathetic for two grown women to try and kill each other under such trivial circumstances. So yeah. That's why I didn't object. Of course, I did mean what I said. She is crazy about the guy and I think the feeling is mutual. My only concern is this issue with Ranger Manoso but then, she doesn't seem worried so why should I be?

I made it home in little time and trudged to the apartment with my copy of the key. Stepping in, I went around turning on all the lights, said hey to Rex and went straight to the phone. I had a small chat with Joseph relaying a message to my cousin then headed off to the bedroom to change. I loved my family I did but God was it ever stressful spending time with them. I was tuckered out! I needed rest. Serious rest. Diving into the bed, I was soon out cold.

* * *

And that's it for chapter 4! I'd love to add more but my fingers are starting to cramp and I can barely keep my eyes open. I'll add some more stuff in chapter 5. Where we'll finally see what a disaster magnet Adriana can become! I hope you'll tune in! 


	5. Trouble in Paradise

I'm back! It's time for the chaos to finally start. I can't wait to get started. Oooh! This is gonna be so much fun!

Disclaimer: Never owned. Never will.

* * *

_Adriana_

I'd woken up earlier than usual yet quite refreshed. For a couple of groggy seconds when I woke up to pee, I'd forgotten what happened to Stephie. But then I remembered and everything worked out as I drifted back to slumber. Now, I'd finally managed to get up with a lovely little thrill in my brain. With Stephanie at her boyfriend's—if you could call him that—house, she had no need for her car. Which meant I could use it as I saw fit! Guess it goes to show that chaos theory does exist. You can get something good out of something bad. Oh yes. Life was sweet!

I got dressed and headed out to the car and decided to take a trip to Vincent Bail Bonds. Why? To get some much needed info on Stephanie from Vinnie. I can honestly tell you that there is no way in hell he'd ever be my favorite cousin but I knew I am his. I'm not exactly sure why that is but hey, it works. Parking the car, I hopped out and walked cheerily inside.

"Hey Connie! Hey Lula!" I greeted the women.

"Hey Adriana." They greeted in unison.

"What brings you up here?" asked Lula curiously.

"Vinnie." I answered.

"Vinnie?" they repeated with the most shocked looks.

I laughed. "I'm trying to get some info on this job of his."

Connie looked at me curiously and cocked her head to the office. I made it past her desk and knocked. It opened indeed and I was soon face to face with the pervert I know and love… to an extent.

"Need something?" he asked me.

"As a matter of fact… yeah." I replied. "What can you tell me about Stephanie's job? I mean, what does she do? Is she good? Dangerous? You know, stuff like that?"

Vincent looked at me and laughed. It kinda surprised me. "There's nothing to tell. Except that she sucks at it."

I looked at him with a quirked eyebrow. "Honestly?"

"I swear to God. She has no training whatsoever. All of her captures were simply because she was lucky or else she got help."

"You don't say."

He suddenly gave me a look. "You interested in working for me?"

I flushed. "Um…Well, I"—

"Because I'll be glad to take you on. We can start today."

"Really!" My lit up eyes instantly dropped to confused and suspicious. "Hold on. Why would you be so willing to hire me when Steph had to threaten you to get hired?"

"You've got better qualifications."

"How's that?"

"For one, you're actually trained in self-defense since you took that class in Colorado after a student got mugged or so your e-mail to Uncle Lorenzo said. Stephanie's got nothing. For two, you went to law school and trained to become a cop."

"That really shouldn't count because I dropped out remember? I went and got my master's and tried law school but it didn't work out. I never even made it to rookie level. And everyone knows that's way different from actual experience."

"It's better than nothing."

"Okay, anything else?"

"Lastly, you know how to use guns--"

"Wait a second. Stephie knows how to use a gun. She's got one in her cookie jar."

"You didn't let me finish. You know how to use guns and you're crazy about them."

"Stephanie doesn't like guns?"

"She hates them."

"So this is why you'd hire me."

"Yep. You'd make a good addition." He dropped his voice. "Besides, between you and me, I need some workers that actually have a chance catching the FTAs. Or if you wanna be safe, you can file for me."

"What about Lula?" I whispered. "Doesn't she file for you?"

"Take a look over there." He pointed and I followed his eyes to see a stack of totally unorganized files. "She look like she doing her job?"

"I see your point."

"Well…?"

"I'll think about it."

I expected to be happy but now I was slightly antsy. It wasn't about Vinnie saying yes automatically or even about the dangerous criminals one was about to pick up. Oddly enough, it was about Stephanie. She'd been so against me working for Vinnie that I imagined she'd have a fit and then some if she knew he hired me. Although, it wasn't like she said I couldn't work for the guy. Just that she wasn't gonna help me get a job. And it turned out I didn't need her anyway. Still… I thought I'd wait a little bit longer before making a decision. Just in case.

With all the info I could get, I decided I was a bit hungry and with nothing in the apartment I needed some food! I decided Cluck-In-A-Bucket was the best choice. I hadn't had any chicken in a while and I was in the mood for something fried. Going through the drive through, I ordered a chicken sandwich, fries, a bucket of wings and drumsticks and a large coke. A lot of food I know but I was starving. Besides, I'd grown up to be a healthy young woman so why did I have to worry about eating healthier. The way I saw it, I was set. As I ate, I decided to head to the mall. I hadn't been to the mall in ages and I was overdue for some shopping! By the time I got there, I was done with the bucket and fries and was starting on the sandwich. Carrying my soda, I headed inside and began browsing the bookstores. Where some women enjoyed shopping for clothes, I preferred shopping for merchandise. Not that I didn't like clothes shopping, I just didn't like to do it so much. Merchandise on the other hand, I was a shopaholic. It was just that simple. Today though was all about browsing. I had money but I wanted to skim everywhere before I decided to spend. Because the next thing I'd know, I'd see something else I wanted but would have no money to buy. Eventually, I decided to call it a day and head out. To where? Well… I hadn't seen my parents since last night's dinner so maybe I could stop by. I opened the car door to find a man on the passenger side floor with a gun pointed at me.

"Get in." He ordered.

I simply froze. What the hell I was doing just freezing in my tracks like that, I had no idea. But I did. I simply couldn't move. In the end, the creep just snagged my hand and pulled me in the car while the gun was still at my head. He said something that I didn't quite catch but it had my cousin's name. That much I knew. Everything went into a blur until an outburst snapped me out of it. He was on the phone and there was yelling for a moment before he finally looked at me.

"What's your name?" he barked at me.

"My….name?" I mumbled.

"What's your name!"

"My name…is Adriana Plum."

Whoa, whoa! What is up with me? I'm telling this psycho my name? Am I insane? I immediately decided I would say no more. It was just as well because the guy was no longer focusing on me. He was once again on his little cell arguing with someone. In the midst of it all, I managed to jump to a pretty valid conclusion. And I got that I was not part of the original plan. That a mistake was made. But when things suddenly cooled down, I got the willies. That was never a good sign.

"Why don't we take a little ride?" he suggested in the most scary way. "I got a feeling you'll be useful."

And suddenly, I felt cold. My entire body got a chill down to my very core as he made me start the car and put it in drive. I didn't know much about criminals but everything I learned from instinct and others knew that going to said criminal's destination was as good as shooting yourself right then. I could not go with this guy. I'd be screwed! So I did something that surprised even me. I crashed the car. It happened so fast I don't remember how I did it. I simply started driving out to the highway and then I jammed the gas and dived straight into traffic. I recall cars screeching by and yelling and cursing and possibly a scream. Then it was all dark. I assume I passed out. When I woke up, I was in the car still and pretty much stunned. Coughing, I looked around but couldn't find the gunman. I had no idea where he went and I didn't really care. But what really got my attention was a smell. Like gas and burning. Holy crap! The car was on fire! Alarm hit me in just that instant and I struggled to get out of the car. Yanking off my seat belt—and I still don't know how I remembered to put it on—I crawled out the back window seeing my driver's side was trashed and rushed away from the wreckage. A mere moment later, the vehicle went **boom!** Once again, I was stunned. Straight up stunned. I stood at a distance, covered in soot from the first fire and steadily coughing. I was bruised slightly with torn pants and I smelled like smoke. And then I saw the debris. Loads of broken off chunks of building, car parts and eventually an electrical pole all fell down onto the car one by one. Each impact made me wince and flinch until the pole. By now, I could no longer identify the car or what was left of it. I probably should have been thankful I was still alive. I should probably have been a bit scared knowing that someone had probably intended to cause me immense pain. But really, all I could think was: _Omigod! Stephanie is going to kill me!

* * *

_

_Stephanie_

I woke up leaning into a very large stuffed animal. Wait a second. Since when did Morelli have a stuffed animal? Opening my eyes, I looked to find that the overly furry animal was actually a real animal. None other than Bob. He must have joined us later in the night. I really didn't want to get up yet. I wanted to stay in bed and bask in the remnants of last night's passion. But with Bob being the lumbering distraction that he was, I didn't see it happening. So fully awake, I yawned and got out of the bed in cheery spirits. Cheery because quite frankly I enjoyed last night so much that I felt I could overlook any flaws or issues. I jumped in the shower for a quick wash and headed downstairs. When I got to the kitchen, Morelli was already dressed, drinking coffee and almost out the door.

"Heading out a little late, aren't we?" I asked.

"No. You're up a little early." he answered.

"I am?" I looked at the clock. Yep. According to that, I was an hour early. "Wow, there's a first."

"You're telling me."

He gave me a kiss goodbye and then he was gone. Off being a cop. I helped myself to some coffee then went upstairs to get dressed. Then I went to fetch Bob who was still snoozing. After a little bribery, I had him up and we took a little walk around the neighborhood for a while. Once we got back, I whipped out my cell to call my dad.

"Hey, Dad. I could use a ride."

"What happened to your car?" he asked me.

"It's at the apartment."

10 minutes later, my father was in front of Morelli's house.

"Where to?"

"Your place."

My father parked the car and we both stepped inside the house. My mother was busy in the kitchen and my sister was watching the TV with her kids.

"Where's Grandma Mazur?" I asked as I came in.

"She's getting her hair done at the salon." answered my mother.

I couldn't be sure but I thought I heard my father say something along the lines of, 'thank you, God.'

"Stephanie, where is Adriana? Didn't she want to come?"

"Oh, she's at home."

"Home? Why would you leave her at your apartment?"

"Well, I was at Morelli's last night"—

"Yes, but why didn't you pick her up after you left?"

"I figured we could both use some time for ourselves. Besides, it's not like she'll be bored. The car is there if she needs it."

"The car! You can't leave your cousin all alone to drive around in Jersey. What if she gets lost?"

"Mom, she's a big girl. She can handle being on her own. Hell, she went to another state on her own and rode a plane back here just fine the same way. She'll be fine. Even if she does get lost, there's plenty of ways to get help. Besides, what could possibly happen?"

"Holy moly!" exclaimed my grandmother as she came in the front door. "Did you guys hear? Another one of Stephanie's cars blew up!" Her voice started nearing the kitchen. "Gladys was watching the news and told us all about it. It's on all the news stations. One little convertible was in a brutal wreck in traffic near the mall." By this time, Grandma Mazur had made it to the kitchen where she spotted me. "Oh! Hey Stephie. Boy, it's too bad about your vehicle. Whoever borrowed it must not have been very careful."

On the outside, I was quite collected. You'd never know my emotions otherwise. But inside, I was panicking. And it wasn't because of my poor car or the fact that I'd be paying for another disaster. It was because there was only one person who could be driving the car. I instantly rushed to the living room where Valerie, after listening to Grandma, was also watching the news. Live in the mall parking lot was my very own car in a flaming heap. I didn't bother trying to explain. I just ran and borrowed a car I never thought I want so desperately in my life. Hopping in to Big Blue, I started it up and drove madly down the road. I just hoped Adriana was okay.

* * *

_Adriana_

I was walking around in erratic circles and mumbling up a storm of Italian and Spanish. Back and forth every few minutes. It sounds a bit tedious but it's actually quite easy. With a mother of Italian descent and a father of Hispanic descent, I grew up learning both languages at the same time on top of my English. It helps to get it all out when you're just a little tyke.

Like I was saying, I was pacing in stressed circles and complaining in both my native languages in a total freak out session when I heard the sirens. Numerous police cars. And just like that I froze all over again in horrified silence. There were so many! Not to mention a couple of ambulances and firefighters. I couldn't believe my eyes. Since when did Jersey law enforcement move this fast? Hell, since when did any law enforcement move this fast? But my amazement was short lived. Because that was all that went fast. When the police exited their vehicles, they really didn't seem to be in much of a hurry. They moved like this was something… expected. Not the good kind. Just like it couldn't be helped. A group of them were looking at the car with a bit of grim fascination. And about two of them had walkie talkies in their hands getting ready to call someone. Then they very slowly looked around no doubt to track the driver, who was of course, me. It didn't take them long. I was right next to the trashed thing. From that point on, everyone's demeanor changed on me. It was the oddest thing. Simultaneously, each expression turned into shock, shock and more shock. They couldn't have looked more shocked if their jaws had dropped. It was then that I suddenly recognized one.

"Eddie!" I cried, giving my own shocked look. "Eddie Gazarra!"

"Adriana!" Eddie gasped himself as he basically ran over to me.

I then spotted the other two familiar faces. "Carl Costanza and Big Dog! Wow! What are the odds?"

"Adriana!" exclaimed the guys in unison.

"When did you leave Colorado?" Carl asked.

"I arrived yesterday. I'm staying with Stephanie." I told him. "Huh. So you guys work in Trenton P.D?"

"Yeah." There was a serious pause as the 3 men overlooked my form with concern. "Are you okay?"

And then I suddenly remembered the circumstances. "Oh! Yeah. I'm fine."

They all gave me a look basically showing their doubts. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I was covered in ashes and soot, slightly toasted with reddened skin, wearing a gash on my forehead and my clothes were torn. I must not have looked convincing. And then I just had to get dizzy. Seeing this, Big Dog quickly rushed to my aid and kept me from falling over. My head was too busy pounding to say anything so I simply smiled my gratitude. I was then led to the nearest ambulance to get taken care of. While I was getting my head bandaged, I took the liberty to notice a few things. A few ambulance workers also had walkie talkies and were busy contacting someone. The cops from before were doing the same. 10 minutes later, I was released and headed back out to satisfy my curiosity. Before I could, I spotted two cars drive up in quite a rush. One was a khaki colored type that I couldn't recall wearing a siren on the top. The other was black. Like a terrain vehicle or something. I hadn't thought much of the cars at the time until two men came out of each. Morelli and Ranger. I went goggle eyed at the sight of them and stood there staring. Then they both caught sight of me and our expressions basically mirrored each other's. And then they both rushed over.

"Are you alright?" Joseph asked me when he and Ranger reached me.

"You're a cop?" I responded to Joseph with intense interest.

Yep. That was the first thing that came to my head to say. Not, yes I'm okay. Not panicked explanations of what I went through. Just simply, was he a cop? He was in uniform which made it obvious but I had to ask anyway.

Joseph looked taken aback. "Yeah." He answered.

"Really? When? How long? What do you do?"

"Yeah. After I left the Navy. For a while. And I work in vice."

"Wow." I turned to Ranger. "You're a bounty hunter, right?"

I'd asked that question because of his outfit. It was still black but not like casual wear. More like…hell, like a swat uniform.

Ranger blinked. Probably the closest to a surprised expression he could possibly get. "Yeah."

"When did you start? How long have you been? What do you do? Is it different from Stephanie?"

"After I left Special Forces. For a long time. I go after high risk cases. And yes. It's very different from Stephanie."

"You were in Special Forces?"

Both men suddenly gave me looks.

"What? I can't be curious?"

Then both men smiled.

"I guess this means you're okay, then?" asked Joseph.

"Yeah." I told him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

This in turn got me another look from the two of them.

"Oh. Right. This." I gestured to the trashed car. "Well, like I said I'm fine. I had a headache and I was dizzy for a moment but I'm okay now." I paused. "Hey, what are you guys doing here anyway? I mean, how did you know about the accident?"

There was a silence where I got the feeling they probably wanted to change the subject. I was prepared to pester their asses but then another car drove up. It was a blue Buick. One I recognized. My uncle Sandor's car. Big Blue. I was curious to see who was driving and practically squeaked in anxiety as Stephanie Plum got out. Her eyes swept the scene in one move and she found me instantly. With that, Steph bolted over to my side and gave me a hug.

"Are you okay, Adriana?" she asked me.

By this time, I was too scared to see her reaction to the car that I simply nodded. Afraid that if I spoke, my voice would end up sounding high and squeaky which tended to happen when I was emotional. Like now. Stephanie looked past me to the car and I winced hearing her sigh.

"I'm sorry, Stephie!" I told her with a squeaky voice indeed. "I didn't mean to destroy your car! I had no idea it would get this bad. It's just that there was this guy and a gun"—

"What!" exclaimed Stephanie, Joseph and Ranger with a lot of alarm.

I blinked a bit taken aback by their reaction. "A guy broke into the car." I continued. "I totally never knew he was there. The door was still locked when I got to the car. Anyway, I opened the door and he was there aiming the gun and I froze. Then he pulled me in and he asked my name."

"He asked your name?" repeated Stephanie.

I nodded. "He was arguing with someone on his phone and then he stopped to ask my name. I told him and there was more arguing then he said I was going somewhere with him. Everyone knows that going somewhere with a kidnapper is like suicide and I knew I couldn't go with him. But I couldn't think of anything to do. So then I just crashed the car. I didn't really plan it. It just happened."

I was cringing inside bracing myself for something but I didn't get anything. In fact, they weren't paying attention to me anymore. They were sharing looks that I didn't really like.

"Is there something you aren't telling me?" I asked the trio.

"Adriana, how long have you been here?" asked my dear cousin, who was changing the subject.

"Huh? I don't know. Maybe about an hour or two, I think. Why?"

"Why didn't you call someone?"

"How could I? I don't have a cell phone."

"You don't have a cell phone?"

"No, I don't. I never saw a reason to get one. All my friends were within walking distance. And it's not like I've ever talked on the phone much anyway. What? Are you planning on buying me one?"

She didn't answer which in my mind was getting ridiculously annoying. Through all this talking, the scene had been basically cleared for the most part. And everyone was heading off. I decided to go too but I realized that I had no transportation anymore. I could ride with Steph, but I really didn't want to have to ride in Big Blue. I was pondering what to do when Stephanie gestured for me to ride with Joseph Morelli. I cocked my eyebrow at her. Was she nuts?

"What?" My cousin asked.

I looked at the men. "Would you excuse us?" I grabbed Stephanie's hand and led her away. "You're kidding right?"

"What's the problem?"

"You don't really expect me to sit in a car with Joseph do you?"

"You said you were okay with him."

"Correction. I said I was fine with you being all romantically inclined with the guy. I never said I wanted to hang out with him."

"Okay then. How about Ranger?"

"That's no better!"

I could see Stephanie was losing her patience with I was sorry for but it wasn't about to change my mind.

"Well, you've gotta ride with someone."

"I know. And I've got the perfect choice."

"Who would that be?"

I smiled. "Hey, Eddie! You need a babysitter tonight? Give me a ride and I'm all yours!"

I was merely being polite by asking and offering but the truth was, I didn't need to. Eddie Gazarra always needed a babysitter. Always. His kids were that much of a handful. And I was one of the few that actually didn't mind watching the tykes. That's one of the advantages when it comes to that guy. Offer to babysit and you could get him to agree to almost anything. Take now, for example. Eddie politely took the time to think about my offer…for only a millisecond. He then immediately went to his car.

"Hop in!" He called out.

I smiled at Stephanie, who was looking a bit surprised to say the least. Though I wasn't sure why.

"See? No problem." I took off towards Eddie's car and slipped into the front seat. "See you guys later!" I called and happily I drove away.

* * *

_Stephanie_

I watched Adriana drive off with Gazarra in not exactly happy spirits. It wasn't like I didn't expect him to give her a ride. I was just hoping that maybe my cousin would at least try and make friends with Morelli and Ranger. I didn't see what she had against the two of them. I really didn't.

I went back to where the guys were and I knew without even looking that they over heard the entire conversation. I wasn't sure about Ranger, though I was never sure about him, but I was pretty certain that Morelli might have felt a bit crappy.

"Sorry." I told them both. "I really thought she was starting to like you two."

They both shrugged their shoulders like it was no big deal so I didn't bring it up again. Instead, I decided to focus on the fact that someone was out to kill me. Again. It was actually quite obvious now that I thought about it. Whoever it was that broke into my car was hoping to get me but when they found I wasn't there, the plan got sidetracked and they decided Adriana was a good use of bait. With this thought in my head, I found I was thankful my cousin ended up wrecking my car. If she hadn't, who knows what might have happened to her.

We came to an agreement that I shouldn't head back to my apartment and I headed off in Big Blue to run and get my things. That's when I remembered about Adriana. No way could I leave her there on her own. I wasn't sure where she should stay but it wasn't going to be there. When I drove up, I found a foreboding sight. There were police cars and animal control vehicles. Animal control? Getting out of the Buick, I rushed inside the building taking the stairs because the elevator would take too long and immediately headed to my apartment. The door was open and there were various people in uniform sitting with my cousin who was on the couch in total stress mode. I quickly rushed to her.

"Adriana? You okay? What happened?" I asked.

She nodded. "Y-yeah. I'm okay. It's just…"

Her eyes followed a box that a bunch of animal control workers were carrying out and I instantly got up to get a better look.

"Wait! Stephanie, you don't wanna get near that box!" Adriana warned.

A bit too late I'm afraid. I'd already reached the worker and asked him to open it up. The sight wrenched a very loud shriek from me and I jumped back in horror.

"I tried to tell you!" replied Adriana.

Scorpions. The box was filled with poisonous scorpions. As I thought about that in my disgust, I had another realization. Someone must have left a box of scorpions on my doorstep. And Adriana found them.

* * *

And that takes care of that chapter! I will be speeding along to number six! I hope you guys will keep reading. 


	6. Dealing With It

Chapter six for Twice the Plum! But before I begin…I'd like to thank those of you who have helped me achieve 6 reviews! Six! I've never gotten that many before. I hope you keep going! Now then, let's begin! (Ooh! Rhyme!)

Disclaimer: You know the deal.

* * *

_Stephanie_

We were now officially alone in my apartment. Adriana and I. The animal control workers had left about 10 minutes ago and I was busy watching the door way plus listening for the phone. Adriana was pacing rapidly around the room. A sign she was ridiculously stressed right now. I didn't blame her.

A few minutes later the door opened and in stepped Morelli followed by Ranger. Their expressions were wearing the usual grim look but with a mix of something more. Concern. More than usual. I knew why. It was because of Adriana. Not that they weren't worried about me. I knew they were. But this was normal for me. For her, this had to be completely abnormal. Sure enough, both men instantly turned their eyes to her pacing form.

"She was the one that found the box." I told them. "That's all I know."

The concern hiked up a notch as Adriana began complaining to herself. Italian to Spanish and back again. Over and over. I watched Morelli walk over to her.

"Adriana?" He asked softly.

She jumped slightly. "Huh? What? Oh, Joe."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah…yeah. I'm fine. I'm okay. Just—I mean—wow!"

Morelli had basically placed an arm over her shoulder and gingerly led her to the couch where she was officially sitting.

"You sure?" questioned Ranger, who had slipped over and was currently next to her.

Adriana nodded. "I'm alright. Really."

By this time, I'd joined the group and we were all sitting on the couch together.

"What happened?" I asked my cousin. "I mean, how did this happen?"

"Um, well…" Adriana began. "I came home and there was this box in front of the door. I was curious to see what was inside so I decided to open it. But I was in a big hurry 'cause I needed to pee so I brought it inside. Anyway, I came out and opened the box and that's when I saw all the scorpions. I jumped back without thinking and I ended up setting them lose all around the apartment. I had to snatch Rex's cage, head next door and dial animal control. I was there for like an hour before they came." She gave a nervous laugh then let out a serious sigh.

The guys and I shared a look. This was not good. I decided now was as good a time as any to make arrangements.

"Adriana." I started. "Listen, we—Ranger, Morelli and I—had a little talk. And we don't think it's safe to stay here. So, I've decided we need to move out for a while."

For a moment, she didn't react and I figured she didn't understand. And then she suddenly got it.

"Oh no." She jumped up shaking her head. "No way. I don't think so. Not even. Uh-uh. No way in Hell. Forget it. Not a snowball's chance in Hell. Don't even think about it!"

"But"— I protested.

"Non!

"But"—

"Nyet."

"But"—

"Nein."

"Adriana!"

"I won't do it!"

I felt my eye begin to twitch. "Adriana…you've got to stay with someone."

"So I gotta stay with Joseph! I'd rather stay here!"

"If that bothers you so much, why don't you try and stay with Ranger, then?"

She looked at me then looked at Ranger and back to me. "Not. A. Chance."

"Well, where do you plan on going then!"

Adriana simply walked over to the phone and dialed a number. And then she put it on speaker phone.

"Hello?" responded a voice on the other end.

"Hey, Mama? It's me, Adriana."

"Oh, Adriana! How are you, mi hija?"

I stared in shock. Her mother? Adriana was talking to Aunt Cassandra?

"I'm fine. Listen, do you and Papa still have my old bedroom?" asked my cousin.

"Of course. Why?" replied my aunt.

"I was hoping I could stay with you for a while. If you don't mind."

"Did something happen?"

"No. No, everything's fine. It's just that something came up at Steph's apartment. The super thinks there might be a gas leak and it's not safe to stay because no one knows the exact source."

I found myself smiling, impressed. Adriana wasn't as good a liar as I was, but she could manage when the time called.

"Oh. Well, we'd love for you to come. I'll have your father pick you up right away."

"Thanks Mami! I'm at the apartment, just so you know."

"Okay, sweetie. I'll see you later."

"Love you. Bye!"

When the call ended, Adriana took off speaker and turned around. I wasn't looking at Morelli or Ranger to possibly guess what they were feeling. But I knew how I felt. Annoyed, hurt and pissed.

"I can go wait outside for my father to pick me up." She was saying. "You guys can head out without me."

And that was when I snapped. "God, Adriana! What is your deal!"

Adriana looked at me with surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"You've been acting this way ever since you first ran into Ranger and Morelli! Why don't you tell me what's up with you?"

My cousin soon joined me in her own rage. "What are you blind, Steph! You know what it is! The fact that you've become a traitor!"

"Excuse me!"

"You heard me!" She gestured to Morelli. "You're a traitor to all the Burg women everywhere!"

"That's not true!"

"The hell it isn't! Hooking up with Joseph Anthony Morelli!" Adriana pointed to Ranger. "And then there's him! You've got this guy who's just as disgusting as Joseph if not more so and you've got yourself stuck in a love triangle with the bastard! Yeah, that's right. I know! Two men and neither are to be trusted."

"What's not to trust?"

"What's not to trust? _What's not to trust?_ Joseph was a legendary womanizer! And as far as I'm concerned, he still is! And Manoso freakin' broke into your apartment! That's should be reason enough!"

"It's complicated Ana! All right! Just trust me! You're not even giving them a chance!"

"Well, pardon me for not being taken with two men I don't really know. Tell you what. How about I sleep with them both and maybe I can like them as much as you do right now!"

I gasped and everything went completely silent after that moment. From the moment the argument began, we'd completely ignored any type of reaction from Ranger or Morelli. In fact, we completely ignored our surroundings. Now we were aware of everything. Both of them were staring at us with the most shocked expressions. Even Ranger. I'm not kidding. I'd never seen him look so startled in my entire life since I've known him. I half expected one of them to say something, but they seemed speechless. Adriana had also been rendered speechless. She had that look of regret I knew so well. Whenever something happened that she hadn't meant to happen. I didn't know what to say. And then we heard the loud honking outside interrupting the suffocating silence. Adriana stirred first.

"That's my Papi." She announced softly. "I'd better go. I'll…I'll get my stuff another time."

And with that, Adriana ran out of the apartment. No one made a move to go anywhere. We stood there in our silence until we heard the rumbling of a car engine signaling that she was gone.

* * *

_Adriana_

I was sitting in my dad's car staring out the window. Tears were silently coming down my face and I bit my lip to keep from voicing my thoughts. It was safe to say I was depressed. Not angry. Not hurt. Just depressed. I couldn't believe I said the things I did to Steph. I completely crossed the line. No way would she forgive me. She'd probably hate me. And I wouldn't blame her.

We continued to drive around in complete silence until we finally arrived at the house. I slowly exited the car and headed inside my familiar home. It really hadn't changed much. It was a big lilac and white house that seemed to go with just about any weather perfectly. Inside, it was a 3 bedroom house. 1 room for my parents, one for me and the last for any guest we had visiting. In the guest room was my Grandpa Marcelo. He'd gotten to old to live on his own and my father didn't want to send him to a home so they were taking care of him. Actually, I think my mother would have loved for the guy to be anywhere but here. Personally, I was glad he was staying. Of course, I didn't have to watch him to make sure he stayed out of trouble.

I gave a quick kiss as a greeting to my mama and grandfather and headed up to my room. Once inside, I collapsed on the bed and just lied there. I surprised myself by not crying. Maybe I'd gotten it out of my system in the car. I continued to lie in my room when the door opened and in stepped my mother. I loved her but I really wasn't in the mood to speak right now. But then she surprised me. She just sat in the bed and then gave me a hug. That was all.

"I got in a fight with Stephanie." I told her. I hadn't meant to but I blurted it out.

"I thought as much." She answered. "You were never more upset than when you and Stephie weren't getting along. Ever since you were little." I heard her smile. "And I've always told you not to worry about it. Because one way or another you two would make up. You were always like that."

She gave me a kiss on the cheek and left me alone. "I'm going to fix dinner. Let me know if you'd rather eat up here, okay?" Then she went downstairs.

I had to smile. If there was nothing else, I would always eat. There was never a situation where I turned down food. My parents knew that about me. In the end, I went downstairs to see what we had for dinner. Fried chicken! Well, now I had to eat. I gladly made myself a meal and ate every bite. By the time I got to the dessert, I was in cheery spirits. When I had my full, I went up to go to bed. I was really tuckered out and it had been a long day. I snuggled into my pajamas but before I dozed off I had a thought. Digging into my clothes, I reached into my pants pocket and took out a note. Not just any note. See, I neglected to tell Stephanie something at the apartment. On the box, there was a note left there. I hadn't thought much about it but now I was thinking it really meant something. I unfolded the letter and read it once again.

**Unless you are Stephanie Plum, do not open this box.**

Hmm. Yes. It was official. This wasn't random at all. Someone was after my cousin. The question was, why?

I woke up late like normal and hopped out of bed. I went to the upstairs bathroom and relieved myself, taking a shower and brushing my teeth afterwards. I was taking my time because I had nothing to worry about. The perks about this place was that it had two bathrooms so you never had to really worry about rushing. It was a good thing too. Because when Grandpa Marcelo got in there, it would take nothing short of a miracle to get him out.

I headed out the bathroom fully dressed and stopped by for a quick breakfast. Gulping down my apple juice, I went straight for my Grandpa's car. He was relieved of his license because of his condition so the car was basically sitting there collecting dust. I'd already asked for the keys ahead of time and was purposely deciding to borrow it. I needed it to take me somewhere. Hopping in the driver's side, I started the car and headed straight towards Hamilton Avenue. I was heading to Vinnie's. Why? Because if I was right, Stephanie would be there and I desperately needed to talk to her.

I parked and walked in. I caught sight of Connie immediately and rushed over.

"Hey. Has Stephanie come in yet?"

"Not yet." Connie told me. "Why do you ask?"

"I just have to talk to her and wanted to make sure I could catch her."

At that exact instant, the door opened and who should walk in but her. When Stephie caught sight of me, I saw once again the hurt in her eyes from last night and I was immediately filled with guilt.

"Stephanie." I said softly. "Can we talk?"

She nodded and headed out. I followed as quickly as I could. When we were out far enough, I faced her and we looked on in awkwardness.

"I'm so sorry, Stephanie." I blurted out. "Really. What I said was mean and cruel and heartless and I hope you can forgive me even though I'd totally understand if you didn't because it's not like I deserve it. It's just that I"—

"Stop." interrupted my cousin.

I shut up and completely froze.

"It's okay, Adriana. I'm not mad."

"You aren't?"

She shook her head. "I was never mad. Just hurt. But I understand that you're hurt too. It was wrong of you to make such a rotten accusation but it was wrong of me to expect you to understand something that's been going on for a while when you just got here."

"So we're okay?"

"We're okay." She paused. "But I want you to try and get to know them. Morelli and Ranger."

"But"—

"You said yourself you hardly knew them. I figure that's the main reason. If you got to know them for a while, you'd see what makes them so likable."

"But"—

"Please Adriana. Could you just try? I know I haven't said it but I want you to start getting along."

I sighed. "Okay. I'll…try. But I'm not making any promises!"

Stephanie laughed and hugged me and I hugged her back and we both laughed and hugged. I let her go first and decided to head back to my car. In her still happy mood, my cousin decided to walk me to the car. We'd barely gotten there when something caught both our eyes at once. It was a note stuck on the windshield. I suddenly had a scary thought and went to pick it up but Steph beat me to it. Gulping, I simply looked over her shoulder since I could do nothing else.

**I told you not to open the box.**

That's what it said. I almost groaned. Uh oh. Whoever this nut job was, he knew about what happened! He must know about me. Then I thought about the first note. No duh! Of course he knows about me. Why else would he tell me not to open the box? He knew my cousin had a roommate!

I was busy trying to keep my expression neutral and act all innocent so she didn't find out about the other note. But it proved to be no good. Stephanie slowly looked at me with a questioning expression that I paid no heed to with a shrug.

"Adriana?"

"Yeah?"

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know."

She gave me a look.

"Honest. I don't!"

"You have another letter don't you?"

"What? No! Don't be silly. I don't"— I sighed. "Okay, okay. Here."

I forked over the other note and watched her read it. When she looked back at me, she had something I hadn't seen in a moment. A scolding expression. And then she did the unthinkable and dialed a number in her cell. This time I didn't try to hide my groan.

5 minutes later, I was face to face with Trenton cop, Joseph Morelli, who was in the process of chewing me out. His lips were tight, his eyes were narrowed and he was towering over me as I sat on the hood of my car listening to him bite my head off. I must say, if Steph planned on me trying to get to know this guy, it wasn't about to be today.

"Let me get this straight" He was saying in a very tight voice I noticed. "You found this note on that box. Didn't tell us about the note. And have had it since…?"

"Last night." I told him softly.

That was when he exploded. "Have you completely lost your mind!" He yelled. "Why would you keep this to yourself!"

"I didn't think it was important." I responded coolly. "This whole situation."

"Not important!"

"Obviously not!" I yelled, having lost my temper. "If it was, I'm sure you would have gladly told me everything there was to know rather than hide it from me!"

Joseph was just a tiny bit speechless and I used it as a chance to continue.

"And don't try to lie, Joseph! You are hiding something! All those silent looks you keep sharing. You've always hidden things from me!" I turned on Steph. "Remember when you lost your virginity? I was the last one to find out about it and I only managed to by bribing Mary Lou. And what about when that skank Joyce Barndhart slept with that bastard ex-husband of yours? I didn't find out about that until I got to talking with Grandma Mazur and by then you'd already gotten your divorce finalized! And you're both hiding something right now! It doesn't take a genius. I connected the incident from the car. Someone out there is after you, Stephanie. I know it. So the way I see it, if you're not gonna tell me things, why should I tell you stuff?"

There was a slight pause as the almost couple digested my words. They knew I was right. In the end, they both made a simultaneous sigh.

"You're right, Adriana." Steph replied. "We shouldn't have hid it from you. We just didn't want to worry you."

"Stephie, I'm a big girl. And this is life. Bad things happen to people. Besides, you're a bounty hunter so I'm sure it just comes with the territory. And you wouldn't have struggled to get this job without knowing what to expect, right?"

There was a brief pause where both Joseph and Stephanie shared another of their many looks but there was something else in there. Sheepishness and scolding. And then I got it.

"Oh, No way!" I exclaimed. "You're telling me you got a job as a bondsman without knowing what to expect? Are you kidding me?"

"I knew it was dangerous!" She protested. "I just didn't think it'd be _that_ dangerous. Besides, I needed the money. I was desperate."

"I can tell." I shook my head laughing. "So what now?"

"Let me see that other note." requested the cop.

I handed it over to him and waited while he read it. I recalled my cousin saying that he could apply his own "cop face" at will and figured what I saw now had to be it. His eyes were intense but that was all I could really tell. Steph wasn't kidding when she said it was unreadable. I had no idea what the hell he was thinking. And to be honest, I was a little unnerved. Plus there was the fact that he seemed to be taking his time with the note. Jeez, how long does it take to freakin' read a note! It was only 8 words! Just when I thought I'd lose my patience he finally stopped reading and shoved it into his pocket.

"So?" I asked.

"Whoever this guy is obviously knows that you're staying with Stephanie, Adriana."

"I thought so."

"So I think it'd be best if you two stayed close."

"I hope this isn't another request to go to your place because you know how that'll end."

Joseph smiled. "I had a feeling you'd say that." He then reached into a pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "Here."

I took it, looking at it curiously. "You bought me a cell phone?"

"Believe it or not, it doesn't just have to be used for conversation. You can use it to get in touch with someone in case you need anything."

I looked at Joe and found myself smiling. "Okay. Thanks."

He smiled back. "No problem. I gotta head back to work. Stay safe, you two."

"Right. You too." added in Stephanie.

And then they just had to kiss right in front of me. Eww! Ever heard of no PDA? Jeez! I decided now was a good as time as any to sneak away and slipped behind the wheel of my car prepared to drive off at top speed if necessary. When it occurred to me that they were still in front of the car, I debated either backing up or honking the horn as loudly as possible. I was just about ready to honk the horn like a ninny when they finally broke apart. Joseph almost left but stopped when he realized something and instead came to my window. Rolling it down, I looked at him questioningly.

"Forget something?" I asked.

"Yeah. Let me see your phone again." He told me.

I gave it to him and watched as he did a little programming.

"My number." He gestured to the screen as he gave it back to me. "Home and cell. In case you need anything."

I blinked a bit then smiled. "Thanks."

Then Joseph left, for real, and hopped into his car. I watched it drive away thinking about the cell phone.

"Didn't I tell you?" Stephanie piped up knocking me out of my thoughts as she sat herself in the passenger's side. "He is nice." She looked at me. "Isn't he?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Meh. I suppose he's okay." I looked at my watch. "Ooh. I'd better go. I promised I'd watch Eddie's kids since I forgot about it last night. He and Shirley want a day to themselves."

"Man, I still can't believe you'd agree to do that." Stephanie then took my phone and programmed her own numbers into it. "Just in case."

I smiled. "Just in case."

With a wave goodbye, I drove off and headed straight for Shirley's place. Okay, I'll admit. Joseph did seem to be a lot nicer these days. And he could be likable. But if Steph thought that meant I trusted him, she was way off.

I parked in the driveway and went to knock on the door. I barely made a tap before the door swung wide open and I was face to face with Shirley.

"Hey, girl. In the mood for a break I see." I greeted as I looked her over. She was definitely dressed to get out.

"You have no idea." she told me.

I laughed. "I'll go say hi to the kids."

"I'll let Eddie know you're here."

We separated and I rushed around, rounding up the children. They were everywhere! And so were the toys. I ended up going to 4 different rooms but in the end I had them all in the living room by the time their parents got there. The younger ones were clinging to me and the older ones talking to me and showing me their toys. When I looked up at Eddie and Shirley, I almost burst out laughing. Once again they were wearing that disbelieving expression they always did when they saw how I reacted to their children.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" asked Shirley. I was always asked that and the answer never changed.

"Of course!" I replied. "You know your kids love me." I looked at them all. "Right?"

"Yeah!" They all cried, squealing and laughing.

"Go have fun." I told them. "Don't worry. We'll be fine."

The lovely couple gave me grateful looks, hugged and kissed their kids goodbye and took off out the door. I waited until I heard the sound of their car engine fading away in the distance.

"Okay, you guys! Who wants to play hide and go seek?"

"We do, we do!" They all yelled.

"Well, I'm It! And I'm gonna count to 100. Ready?...Go! 1…2…3…"

Every kid burst out of the living room and ran at top speed, giggling and everything. By the time I got to 100, I was amazed to hear how quiet it was. I then proceeded to sneak around waiting to sneak up on someone. Not many people enjoyed playing this game but I always loved playing with the little kids. This was already proving to be fun.

5-10 hours later, we were all sitting on the floor watching cartoons. After about 10 straight games, I was officially tuckered out but on the plus side, they were too. So it was easy for me to get them to calm down. The rest of the day had been filled with drawing, board games, eating, reading and videogames. Now we decided cartoons was the way to go. We'd just barely gotten to a really pinnacle part of the show where the bad guy was being chased by the good guy when the door opened and in came their parents. Back from their mini vacation. Before Eddie and Shirley even came into the door, all the kids gave a shushing sound in unison without even looking up. I gave an amused smile at the parents' faces and motioned for them to join us. They did and we finished the thing together. By the end it was time for me to go. All the tykes were protesting and whining so much that I had to promise to come back tomorrow night just to make them feel better. When they were sure I meant it, they immediately went back to doing their own things.

"I want you to know how much we appreciate you coming over." Shirley told me.

"It wasn't a problem!" I told them brightly. "We had fun. Besides, I love your kids."

"Wow…" Eddie replied. "If only more babysitters were like you."

I laughed at that and then gave them both a hug. With a quick wave, I left and went straight to my car,

About an hour later, I was back at my parents' house.

"I'm home!" I called out.

"Adriana!" crooned my mother as she burst into the living room. "Oh, good, you're here. Go outside to the back yard."

"Okay…Why?"

"In case your grandfather is there."

"What? You mean Grandpa Marcelo is missing! How could he be missing?"

My mother shook her head. "Your father was supposed to have the watch. But apparently something made him stop paying attention." She eyed my father critically as he passed by to rush upstairs.

"I had to use the bathroom!" He protested. "I was only gone for a second. How could he have gotten away so fast?"

"You should have let me know you were going to be gone!"

"I would have but I didn't know where the hell you went!"

As my parents got into their lovers' spat, I let out a sigh and quickly headed out to the back. It was never an issue for them to argue but they usually kept going for a while. Unless they were interrupted. Best to track down Grandpa before he gets too far. I opened up the back door and took a peek outside. Sure enough, that's where he was. In the little garden.

"Found him!" I called into the house. Then I walked over to his side and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, grandpa." I greeted softly.

He looked up at me and smiled. "Hey, Ana."

"What are you doing out here all alone?"

"Oh, nothing. Just getting some air."

A few seconds later came rushing out my parents. I decided not to be around for the mild scolding and slipped up to the bathroom for a fresh up. When I came down 5 minutes later, there was obvious tension in the air. Mom and Grandpa were sitting as far away as possible while Dad was looking uncomfortable. I shook my head. A grudge was in the making. I could feel it. Settling myself in the living room, I borrowed the remote and turned to an episode of Family Feud. How we loved that show. Within minutes, everyone was participating with the game and all was right with the world.

"Oh, hey that reminds me." My father told me during commercials. "Stephanie called. She left a message for you to call her. I think it's important."

I quirked my eyebrow. Important? I wondered why. Getting up, I went to the answering machine to hear the message for myself then dialed her number. She picked up on the 2nd ring.

"Hello?"

"You called, Steph?"

"Yeah, I did. Listen, program this number into your cell. Ready?"

"Hold on." I went to the option. "Okay, ready."

She let out a phone number and I programmed it into the phone then let her know I was finished.

"Whose number is this anyway?"

"Ranger's."

My eyes widened. "Ranger's? I'm sorry. Did you say Ranger's?"

"I did. He wants you to call him. Oh and try to be nice to him."

"Yeah, yeah."

I hung up the phone and looked at Ranger's number. He wanted me to call him? Well, why the hell not? I quickly dialed and waited.

"Yo." he answered.

"You answer the phone with 'Yo'?" I responded.

Of all the things for me to say, I said that. Well, what could I say? He caught me off guard. I mean, Yo? What the hell?

"Adriana. I see you called." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Well?"

His smile grew in his tone. "Sometimes. Problem?"

I snorted. "Not hardly. So what do you want?"

"I heard you found some notes today. Two of them. Only no one knew about the first one until recently."

I was momentarily speechless with surprise. "How did you…?" My eyes narrowed. "Stephanie told you, didn't she? That lousy big mouth!"

"I would have found out anyway."

"So… what? Are you gonna scold me for hiding it, too?"

"I don't scold. I'd just like to request that from now on anything you find, you let someone know."

There was a command in his voice that I wasn't quite sure I liked. And yet…it almost sounded protective. Go figure huh?

"Look, I don't know why you're making such a big deal. I mean, why should it be any of your business?"

"Anything dealing with Stephanie is always my business."

I admit it. I got a bit upset on that one. The tone is what clinched it. "Well, you'll be relieved Manoso. This had nothing to do with her. The letter was addressed to me."

"I know. That's what bothers me." Okay, now I know that was protective. And worried. Was he worried about moi? His words seemed to show it but I didn't know for sure…

"Where are you staying now?" he asked.

"At my parents.' Why?"

"I think it'd be safer if you went where Stephanie is."

I gave a frustrated groan. "What part of 'I'm not moving in with Joseph Morelli' do you people not seem to hear? Do you need me to repeat it? 'Cause I'll do it."

There was a pause where I swear to God I could hear him laughing. "Hey! Are you laughing? What's so funny, Manoso?"

"I'm not laughing. What made you think that?"

"A feeling."

"You know. Most people call me Ranger."

"I know. But I'm not most people."

Again there was that smile feeling. "You have a cell phone, right?"

"I do."

"And you have my number."

"How else would I have called you?"

"Good. Keep the phone with you at all times. No matter what. I don't want to find you don't have it."

I smirked. "What? No getting my phone number?"

I heard him smile at the end. "I've already got it. Caller ID. I'll see you around."

He hung up and I stood there with the dial tone in my ear for a long time. Eventually I hung up and had to keep myself from laughing. This guy was a hoot. Without a doubt. I could see where he could be likable in a way. But still…there was no way I'd trust him. Any guy with a mysterious life and who can get away with breaking into a woman's apartment with no repercussions is not to be trusted. No way. No how. Not ever.

Heading back to the family room, I settled back onto the couch and let out a sigh.

"What was that about?" asked Grandpa Marcelo.

"Nothing Gramps." I replied. "Just a little business, that's all."

* * *

And this be the end of chapter S-I-X! I shall work on the 7th straight away! Read and Review my lovely readers! I'll see you next time! 


	7. New Problems

Next up, chapter seven! Cokkii, this one is for you! What's in store for us today? A carjacking, held at gunpoint, a new job and arguing! I hope you enjoy it! 'Cause I enjoy writing it. Yes I do.

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!

* * *

_Adriana_

I was ridiculously bored. My parents had decided to run a few errands together and I was therefore assigned the job of keeping an eye on Grandpa Marcelo. It might have been interesting if he went crazy and ended up running outside naked or got lost. But no…he had to choose this time to take a nap. An undetermined but very long nap. With the most awful snoring. Like a friggin' chainsaw! And it wasn't like I could get to sleep. It wasn't the fact that it would be risky. It was the fact that I couldn't. He was too loud it would take a miracle to for me to even nod off. Just when I thought I'd lose my mind, I suddenly heard a car drive up. My eyes lit up with joy. They were back! My parents were back! With the anticipation of a little kid, I rushed to the door waiting for it to open. But it didn't. Instead, there was knocking. That was odd. My parents never had to knock. Because they never ever, forgot their key. Or anything for that matter. Probably why I've got such a good memory. So who could it be?

"Who is it?" I called with curiosity and confusion.

"Kiki and Nina!" called two voices in unison.

I gasped and squealed, opening the door wide to catch sight of my two friends.

Nina is Korean, brunette and slightly heavyset. Kiki is a red-head, Costa Rican and a bit waif like. You know, thin to the point of holy crap! But she used to be a model so that was to be expected. Both are my height and are as average as anyone person. Even those born in Jersey. I hadn't seen either of them since I headed to Colorado. It was good to see them again.

I hugged them both and we laughed as we reunited.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked as I let them both in.

"We heard that you were back so we decided to drop by." replied Kiki.

"It was hard though." added Nina. "You were tough to track down! Why didn't you let a girl know where you were staying?"

"Or when you got here?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Sorry. Things have been a little hectic lately. I didn't think about it."

"Hectic?" echoed both girls.

"Do tell." requested Nina.

I nodded. "Okay." I sat down. "This may take a moment though."

So I told them. All about everything that happened since I arrived in Jersey. Stephanie hooking up with Joseph and yet having some kind of relationship with Ranger too. The fact that they were jerks and I couldn't stand either of them but I was expected to try and get along with them. Like no one could see why I wasn't fond of them. And finally the whole issue with Stephanie being a bounty hunter and the fact that someone definitely wanted her dead. Plus most importantly of all, there was that nagging feeling that I still wasn't completely clued in.

"I can't place it but I know something is off. I mean, no one's acting the way you'd expect. Not that they aren't worried or concerned or anything. Because they are. It's just…they're too calm! No freaking out, nothing! Like they expect it. Except when it has to do with me. Then they're all bossy and reprimanding and totally jerky." I sighed. "I just don't get it."

My friends sat there digesting every word.

"Well…" began Kiki. "Ever thought of asking?"

I gave her a look. "Dude, if that worked, I wouldn't be in this predicament, now would I?"

"Good point."

"Perhaps you just haven't been asking the right person." suggested Nina.

"Right person?" I repeated.

"Yep. You need to track down the right person. Someone who can tell you and be happy to do it. With the right persuasion."

Suddenly an idea registered clear into my brain. I smiled mischievously. This was a great idea! And I knew exactly who to ask too.

That was when we heard a car drive up. A few minutes later the door opened and my parents got home. Finally! When they spotted Kiki and Nina, my mom instantly greeted them briefly yet cheerily then headed into the kitchen to make lunch without so much as a "how was your day?" My dad on the other hand took a little time to talk to the rest of us. As the conversations progressed, I suddenly had a particular thought. Since I came back to Jersey, I realized that I hadn't spent any time with Stephanie that much. I'm talking zero. None. Nada. Zip. It was kinda depressing. I mean, what kind of person doesn't spend any time with their roommate? I thought it was pathetic in my opinion. But I planned on fixing that. ASAP.

When we finished up our lunch, I headed up to the bedroom to give my cousin a call.

"Hey, Steph!" I greeted when she answered.

"Oh. Hey, Adriana. What's up?" Stephanie replied.

"Nothing much. Listen, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind hanging out at the movies with me. Just us girls. You know, for old times sake."

"Sure. I'd be glad to."

"Really!" I admit it. I was surprised. I had a whole speech ready to convince her and it turned out I didn't have to.

Stephanie laughed. "Yeah. It sounds fun. And I miss hanging out with you."

I grinned. "That's great! I'll see you in…an hour?"

"Sounds good."

I hung up the phone in a giddy mood and went to the bathroom to fix up my hair and change clothes. When I got downstairs, I said goodbye to my parents and met my friends at the door.

"Hey, I'm heading out to go to the movies with Stephanie."

"Your cousin?" asked Nina.

"That's the one. Wanna come with?"

They declined.

"No can do." responded Kiki. "I've got a couple of important things to take care of."

"Same here." inserted Nina. "Maybe some other time?"

"Okay." I said. "Sure. No problem."

We hugged, said goodbye and parted ways. I hopped into my car and drove off to the multiplex stopping off to get some extra treats. After all, the theater can only supply so much junk. When I got there, I didn't see her. So I guessed she was running a bit late. I stopped by Vinnie's only to learn that Steph wasn't there. I then headed to her parents' house and no sign of her there either. I briefly thought about the apartment then crossed it off my list. She'd never go there. Hell, it was her idea to move out! Frowning, I let out a sigh and dialed her.

"Hey." I heard her say.

"Stephanie. Where are you?" I asked.

"Oh, Adriana! Sorry. I'm at Morelli's."

I inwardly winced. I was afraid of that. "Really?"

"Yeah. I wanted to check up on Bob."

"Bob?"

"Morelli's dog."

"Joseph has a dog? Since when did Joseph like dogs?"

"Ever since he met Bob."

"Huh. So, I guess that's where you're gonna be until further notice."

"Pretty much."

"You wouldn't have Big Blue would you?"

"Nope. With my parents. You'll have to come here unless you wanna reschedule."

I winced again. I knew she was gonna say that. "I see. But I don't have the address."

"No problem. Write this down."

She gave it to me and I wrote wincing all the while. "I got it." I paused. "By the way, Joseph is at work right?"

"Yep."

"So he won't be home between now and then, right? Meaning there will be no chance of me running into him, right?"

I heard Stephie sigh. "Right. You won't see him."

"I'll be right there!"

Hanging up, I looked at the address and took a few moments to memorize it. Why? Well, who knew? Maybe it'd be useful. I refused to believe otherwise. Then I drove straight to it honking almost before the car officially stopped. I gaped at the sight of it. Omigod! This was Joseph's house? This place? But it looked so… homey. And well…homey. Now I was really shocked. Stephanie came out with a wave I barely registered as she hopped into the passenger's side.

"This is Joseph's house?" I squeaked, basically echoing my thoughts.

She smiled. "Yeah, this is it."

"But—why would—how did he?"—

"His aunt. She gave it to him and he's been living in it ever since."

"Oh…okay."

I started up the car and drove over to the multiplex at top speed cranking up the radio to some good rock tunes. Hopping out of the car, I gathered up some of the extra treats and let Steph hold a few. She quirked her eyebrow.

"What?" I asked. "The theater doesn't have enough variety. Everyone knows that."

She shook her head smiling and we both headed inside, getting some more food for the movie. It was 2 hours long and by the time we got out, I was cramped and yearning to stretch my legs. But it was all worth it. Because I was having loads of fun right now. Unfortunately it all had to end when we got to where I parked the car. The thing was, there was no car. It was gone! We stood there in shock for some long moments until I finally managed to utter something.

"Someone stole my car." I whined softly.

"Oh no." moaned Stephanie.

"Someone _stole_ my car!"

"Not again."

"I can't believe somebody stole my car!"

And that's when I got a little irate. I'm talking screaming, native tongues and everything.

"Adriana please calm down." soothed my cousin.

"No! I will not calm down!" I raged. "I don't wanna calm down! I have a right to be pissed! Some bastard out there stole my car! I loved that car! Grandpa Marcelo had great taste and he let me have it 'cause he couldn't use it anymore! It was a jaguar for crying out loud! Have you any idea how hard it is to get one of those! And it was my baby! And now some creep is driving around in it! No, I will not be calm! And why are you so calm anyway? Don't you realize some nut just took our only transportation? Now how are we supposed to get home? Huh! Tell me that! We're fucking stranded at the fucking theater!"

Yeah, I was yelling. But then I'm part Italian. And if it's one thing we're experts at, it's yelling. I was waving my hands, making gestures—only mere inches from crude ones—and pacing back and forth in a fit. I could tell Steph was uncomfortable. You wouldn't think so but you'd be surprised how much discomfort can come from being yelled at when you can't find it in you to yell yourself. In the end, she did manage to make me listen by grabbing hold of my shoulders.

"We can call someone." She told me. It was so simple I was momentarily stunned out of my fit.

"Oh yeah!" I gasped. "Wait! I don't have my cell phone."

"You don't have your cell? Why not?"

"It's at your parents.' I went there to see where you went and I must have left it behind. What about you?"

She shook her head. "Morelli's."

I groaned. "Great."

Stephanie got quite alarmed by then. Not because of possible anger. Oh no. It was because it was obvious by my tone that I was on the verge of tears. And topping everything off, it had begun to rain. Already, I could feel the stinging of my eyes and I sniffled a bit.

"Oh no, Adriana." Steph hugged me. "Don't cry. It'll be okay." She let go. "Go into the theater and use their phone. Get out of this rain."

I complied, adding another sniffle. When I got to the phone, I immediately dialed Joe.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Hi Joe." I greeted. "It's me."

"Adriana? What's up?"

"I need a favor. See, the thing is…my car was stolen."

"Stolen?"

"Yeah. Steph and I are like stranded now and we need a ride."

There was a pause where Joe seemed to be trying to hold his laughter. He failed miserably.

"Are you laughing!" I was indignant.

"Where are you?"

I glowered at the phone seeing he didn't answer me. "The multiplex."

"I'll be right over."

I slammed the phone down and stomped outside feeling angry and frustrated. Depression soon caught up with it and I felt that little urge to cry all over again. But I kept it in check. True to his word, Joseph was there in moments and both Steph and I rushed out to his car. When we were safely inside, he looked from me to her and back to me.

"Not one word." I snapped from the backseat. "Not. One."

Joseph didn't say anything but he smiled from ear to ear which really got under my skin.

After being in the car for a moment, he brought up a question.

"What happened to your cells?

"I left mine at your place." Steph answered.

"Mine's at her parent's house." I mumbled.

We stopped at a stop light and he turned around to face me. "You left your cell phones?"

I inwardly sighed. That was his angry voice. I'd recognize it anywhere. "I forgot it." I explained.

"How could you forget!"

"Well, it isn't like I'm used to having one, buddy!"

The light changed and we ended up cutting the talk short. Joseph decided to head to Aunt Helen's house and I knew why. When he put it in the driveway, I ran inside and got my cell then ran back into the car. I quirked my eyebrow to find I had a message. So soon? Who would leave a message? I soon discovered it was Ranger asking me to call. I frowned not liking the way the day was going but dialed him anyway.

"Yo."

"It's me."

"Why didn't you answer the phone?"

"I didn't have it with me."

"You didn't?" There was that tone again. Man, I was starting to hate it.

"I left it at my aunt and uncle's house."

"I told you to keep it with you at all times."

"I forgot."

"Make sure it doesn't happen again."

I felt my temper start to boil. "Fine. It won't. Is there a reason why you were calling Manoso?"

"Checking to see if you were keeping your cell with you. I'll make another check in the next hour. Don't forget it."

"Okay fine."

He hung up and I did the same, inwardly fuming my ass off. I was hurt and frustrated. And now my eyes were stinging mercilessly. I bit my lip. I would not cry. I would NOT cry.

"Ranger." spoke Joseph. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah." I replied.

"What about?"

"How I shouldn't have left my cell phone."

Joseph gave me a stern look in agreement. "He's right. Anything could have happened. I don't want you to forget it again. Don't act so careless next time."

And that was when I lost it. I don't know how or why. I just knew I was hurt that I was being ordered once again. We were parked in his driveway and it was over. Maybe it was my sniffling or my sudden silence. Or maybe it was the way Stephanie looked at me with concern. But Joseph ended up turning around, saw my face and managed to cram in one look of alarm before I was crying. And I do mean crying.

"It's not fair!" I whimpered. "I was just trying to have a good time with my cousin and my car ends up stolen and everyone is being mean to me just because I made a little mistake!"

Stephanie ended up glaring daggers at Joe who looked even more pained than before as well as apologetic. And all the while I cried louder. Then he did something I would have never pictured. He got out, slipped in the backseat and hugged me. One of those ones where you're trying to comfort someone. I'm surprised to say it worked. He apologized and even went as so far as to wipe my tears! If I'd thought about it then, I would have been shocked. But I was just soaking up the comfort. Heck, I even forgot all about his horrible reputation. When I was just to sniffling again, I told him it was okay and he hopped out. Stephanie was already out of the car and looking at Joseph like he was a million bucks for making me feel better. They were heading up to the front door when it occurred to them I hadn't moved. They looked expectedly and I did the same.

"Unless you plan on dragging me out of this car, you both know I'm not going in there, right?" I told them.

In unison, there was a sigh from both of them. Hey, I may have gotten cheered up by the guy but that didn't mean I'd stay in the same house with him. It would take more than that. Reluctantly, he came back to the car and hopped in. But I did manage to slip into the front seat. I figure since he acted all sweet he deserved some liberty. He was surprised but it got a smile so I guess it was a start.

I was dropped of at my parents' and with a wave and a smile I walked in. When I heard the car engine fade away, I wandered around the house to see if anyone was home. The answer was no. They'd all gone out to see an opera. I wasn't surprised. It wasn't like they were common. You had to catch the ones you could. In heading up to my room, I went through my clothes and found I didn't have much. And it was no wonder. All my things were still left over in Stephie's apartment! I needed to get them or else I'd be wearing the same outfit twice in a row. I've never done that and wasn't about to start. It wasn't like I was gonna stay long so what could happen? Whipping out my cell, I decided to call my uncle Frank. Honestly, I was using this thing more than I've used any phone in my life!

"Uncle Frank? It's your niece."

"Adriana! How are you?"

"I'm fine. Listen, you still have that cab service, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I was hoping you might take Stephanie's apartment."

"I thought you weren't living there anymore."

"I'm not. But I've left all my things over and I really need them back. It'll be quick and I can always call you back if you need to leave."

He thought about it. "Okay. I'm on my way."

We disconnected and I waited outside for him. He arrived in around 2 minutes and I got in. He drove me and dropped me off. I waved then headed inside and up the stairs. Taking out my key, I unlocked the door and entered. I made it to the bedroom to gather all my things when I came face to face with two gun toting men, aiming right at me.

* * *

_Stephanie_

I was in Morelli's place spending some time with Bob and thinking about Adriana. As disappointed as I was with the whole her not wanting to come inside, I now had something that made up for it. Hope. There was a time when Morelli couldn't get within an inch of her without getting smacked. But not only did she sit next to him in the car but she let him hug her too! Now all we needed to do was get them to spend more time together and she was bound to like him. But then there was Ranger. He'd be harder to deal with. No question about it. Especially since he wasn't an emotional type of guy. It'd be a challenge but I wasn't about to pass it up.

I started thinking about her some more when I made up my mind to give her a call. I first tried her cell. Best to get her used to it now so that it'll be like second nature to her. When she didn't answer, I frowned hoping she didn't leave it somewhere again. After that, I called my aunt.

"Oh, hello Stephanie!" greeted Aunt Cassandra. "How are you?"

"All right. I'm calling to see Adriana. Is she home?"

"No sweetie. She headed off to your apartment."

My breath left my lungs in that moment. "What?"

"Mm-hmm. She left a note saying that she needed to retrieve her clothes and that she'd be back in a little while." Aunt Cassandra paused. "There isn't anything wrong is there?"

Adriana had to get her perceptiveness from somewhere. "No. Nothing's wrong. I was just wondering where she was. That's all. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Bye Stephie."

"Bye."

I was panicking. Just like that. Adriana was at the apartment and she wasn't answering her phone. It was safe to say I was terrified for her. And then my phone rang. I answered and there she was. Adriana. She was whispering and it didn't take a genius to know why. I never even needed to hear her warning. Quickly she hung up and I felt cold all over. Omigod. This couldn't be happening. Without really thinking much about it, I called my dad for a ride and headed over to his house to borrow Big Blue. As I drove crazily to get to my place, I hastily dialed for Morelli and Ranger. I got neither and simply left a curt message. "Adriana's in trouble. Come to the apartment. Now."

I made it to my building in minutes looking around in anxiety and concern. I took out my gun and snuck around watching for something. When I got to my apartment, I gulped and tried the door. Locked. Clever. Make it seem like there were no intruders. I quietly unlocked the door and slipped in. I didn't call out for fear of being heard but simply peeked in each room. I suddenly heard a noise from the bathroom. Cautiously, I slipped in, looking around. Then I spied the cabinet under the sink and a realization hit hard. Quickly, I crouched and wrenched open the doors.

"Adriana!" I gasped with relief as I reached over to hug her tightly.

She was tied up and folded over in the cabinet. The cell phone was between her legs and she had rope burns on her wrists.

"Stephanie!" She whispered in surprise. "What are you doing here? Are you crazy?"

I untied her. "What's it look like?"

"But I told you NOT to come! Remember? I said, don't come because it's obviously a trap and you'd be falling for it! Honestly, how can you be so stupid?"

"I wouldn't talk if I were you."

"Do as I say, not as I do."

I had to smile at that. The hypocrite's motto. We always had lots of fun repeating it. When Adriana was free, I yanked her up and pulled her along. "We can talk about this later. Right now, we've got to get out of here."

We ran to the bedroom and headed toward the window. Adriana gave me a look.

"The fire escape! What's wrong with the door?"

"If they come back, we'll be cornered. This is our only out."

It was then that we spotted them. The trespassers. They were outside the bedroom door and had just spotted us. I noted the gun in their hands and didn't bother wasting time thinking.

"Time to move!" I barked at Adriana, snagging her arm and pulling her out the window. She let out a squeak but followed readily enough and before long we were sliding down the fire escape.

Hitting the ground running, I made sure I kept latched onto my cousin as we rushed toward the parking lot. And then I heard the lovely sound of police sirens followed by police cars. The thug that had followed our tail had basically run right into the onslaught and was instantly cornered. I felt absolutely giddy seeing him get cuffed. I turned around to face Adriana and widened my eyes in horror. The other one! He was still in the apartment and he had a gun trained right at my cousin! Crying out in warning, I rushed over and pushed her out of the way causing us both to roll to a safe distance right when I heard the loud bang of a gunshot. When we stopped, I heard more shots and kept us both down. But curiosity got the best of me and I peeked anyway. I soon found out what the deal was. The cops had seen what went down and fired shots into my window knocking thug #2 of the escape. He crashed to the ground was being dragged to custody. Relieved, I looked over at Adriana who appeared to be staring into space. Concerned, I nudged her.

"Adriana! Are you okay?"

Her voice was filled with shock. "He tried to kill me."

I hugged her again to give some comfort and looked on in time to spot two very familiar figures coming our way. Two of them. I stood up and helped up Adriana as both Morelli and Ranger ran over at top speed. They slowed when they spotted us unharmed and I could read the relief in their faces.

"Are you two alright?" asked Morelli when he reached us.

I nodded. "We're fine. But I think Adriana might be a tad stressed."

On cue, my cousin pointed to the guy forced into a cop car. "I almost got shot." She replied in more shock.

There was a unanimous widening of the eyes from both men prompting me to explain the situation. There was a bit of a scolding look in both their faces and I found myself hanging my head sheepishly.

"You went to the apartment." began Morelli. "Knowing it wasn't safe. Knowing that these guys were trying to kill you. You knew this and you went anyway."

"Yeah."

Morelli, of course, snapped. "What the hell were you thinking!"

"It was my fault." interrupted Adriana to my surprise. "I wanted to get my stuff. I was only gonna be a moment. I didn't think anything would happen."

I looked at my cousin with surprise. She was defending me? Knowing that she was bound to get yelled at? Morelli and Ranger both looked at her. There was silence on both their parts. Not that surprising for Ranger but big time for Morelli. I noted Adriana was also looking very sheepish and I felt for her. In the end, I heard Morelli sigh.

"What you did was very stupid, Ana." he said.

"I know. I'm sorry." she replied.

"Anything could have happened in there."

"I know."

"But…I'm glad you're okay. Both of you."

We both looked him at the same time. "Really?" We asked together.

"Yeah."

"What about you?" Adriana asked Ranger. I looked at him too, also curious.

"I'm not happy. But at least you two are fine." He answered.

Both me and my cousin grinned and sighed with relief. We then headed to the police cars to give our statements about the days events.

"Hey, that reminds me." piped up Adriana suddenly. "Now that the bad guys are gone and everything, does this mean I can move back to the apartment?"

"NO!" Morelli, Ranger and I answered in unison.

* * *

_Adriana_

It was the next day and I was heading to Vinnie's. I'd managed to get my dad to lend me his car while he and my mom shared the other. I parked, marched purposely into the building and called out to him.

"Vincent Plum!" I yelled. "I made up my mind. I wanna be a bounty hunter!"

Wide did the door swing, and out stepped Vinnie giving me a joyful yet surprised look. One that actually matched Connie and Lula's expressions.

"Seriously?" He asked.

"Seriously."

"Great! But what brought this on? I thought you weren't sure."

"Here's the thing. Last night, I was held at gunpoint in my own apartment, tied up, shoved into the bathroom cabinet and almost shot by people using me as bait to get to Stephanie. And I can't help but think that if I had a means to protect myself like a gun, then I wouldn't have been so easily captured. You get it?"

Vinnie nodded. "Got it."

"Good. So when can I start?"

"Today."

"Okay then. Let's do it."

Vinnie smiled and went into his office. He came out seconds later with equipment. A gun, handcuffs and a stun gun. "Courtesy of Vincent Bail Bonds." He said. "But take care of that stuff. 'Cause if you lose it, it's your money that pays for it."

"Ouch." I complained.

"Hey, that's the breaks." He looked at Connie. "Hand over her first assignment. But make sure it's nothing too major." Then he headed right back into his office.

I looked at Connie expectantly and she looked at me with concern.

"You sure you want to do this?" she asked.

I nodded. "Absolutely."

"Okay."

I got my very first file and looked it over. When I read over the crime, I nearly burst out laughing. A nudist! An old nudist. Well, now I'd seen everything. Snickering, I searched and found out where he stayed then got ready to set out. It was then I ran right into Stephanie. She took one look at me holding the file and wearing the gun, stun gun and handcuffs and basically exploded. Joseph was rubbing off on her.

"Vinnie!" She shrieked. "Get your ass out here!"

Vinnie opened up his office. "What?"

"What the hell is Adriana doing wearing your equipment?"

"She's working here. Why?"

"Working? You can't be serious!"

"Of course I am. She asked and I gave."

Predictably enough, Steph turned on me. "You asked? You mean you went and asked for a job even though I said no?"

"Wrong! You never told me not to. You just said you didn't think it was a good idea. Difference Steph."

"Well, I'm telling you now! You can't work for Vinnie!"

"I'm sorry! Did you just say I _can't_? As in like an order?"

"Adriana! You don't know what you're getting into."

"Neither did you and you're fine!"

"That's different!"

"Like hell it is!"

"Adriana, you're making a mistake. I won't let you take this job."

"Is that a fact? Okay, Stephanie Plum! Try and stop me!"

* * *

Whew! And that is chapter 7. In #8, Adriana: gets sick, breaks her ankle, gets fired and then…kidnapped! Stay tuned! 


	8. Fights, Illness and Embarrassment!

Doing chapter 8 for my Stephanie Plum story! I can't wait to get started! No I can not!

Dis: My name is not Janet.

* * *

_Stephanie_

I was furious. I don't usually get furious. Angry, sure. Pissed, all the damn time. But furious? This was close to being livid and that isn't pretty. Why was I so furious? Because I just learned that my younger cousin has decided to become a bounty hunter. Because even though I was dead set against it, she ended up going to Vinnie anyway. And I couldn't believe that the slimy weasel actually gave her the job. He actually handed over the equipment, handed over a file and sent her on her way. Another reason I was so ridiculously furious. Because she let me know something that was unfortunately very true. I couldn't stop her. As much as I wanted to, she was right. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't very well restrain her. Hell, honestly I didn't want to try. Because the fact was that confronted with such an issue, we'd probably get into a fight.

That was one of the interesting things about her. I may have been the troublemaker but Adriana was the monster. Violent. I'm not kidding. She never hesitated either. If anyone did even one thing to piss her off, she'd gladly throw the first punch. And keep doing it. Never mind the fact that she could get her ass kicked. That was just her style. And I didn't want to worry about getting in a fight with her. I had enough of wrestling on the ground with my skips. I didn't need that. So, all I could do was let her go. I just stood there and watched her exit with the file and hop into the car.

But I wasn't about to let her get away so easily. Oh no. I refused to let that happen. If I couldn't keep her away, I just needed someone else to do it for me. Hence, where I was now. In front of Vinnie's office and banging on the door like crazy so he'd come out. At the moment, he wasn't trying to come but I wasn't going to give up.

"Vinnie!" I screeched in my rage. "Vinnie, you slimy little snake! Get your ass out here! Now!"

He wasn't answering and I knew he was trying to ignore me. Normally I'd let it go and leave him. But today I was way too incensed to let him go. I was just about ready to demand the keys from Connie, since I knew she'd give them to me, when I felt a hand firmly squeeze my shoulder. Ranger gently pulled me a few inches from the door and I turned to face him.

"Doesn't look like he's listening, Babe." He commented.

Normally something like this would leave me just a little embarrassed. But currently I was too deep in fury. "Well, he's going to listen!" I snapped, loud enough for Vinnie to overhear. "Because I won't let him get away with hiring our cousin!"

Ranger cocked an eyebrow at me. "He hired Adriana? When?"

"Today. A few hours ago."

Before I could officially explain what she was doing, I saw the door opened and in she came. When I looked at her condition, I was dismayed utterly. She was a mess! She was soaking wet, covered in mud from practically head to toe, and there was something on her ass that reeked. Badly. I was horrified so I didn't immediately react when she saw me looking.

"What?" she asked.

On top of Connie, Lula and I, Ranger was also staring at her. Then he did something that I can't recall him ever doing before. He went to Vinnie's door and gave one solid knock so loud it seemed to echo.

"Vinnie." He said softly. Not yelled, not called. He just spoke. "Out."

A few moments later, the door opened and out stepped Vinnie!

"Yeah?" He said.

"You gave Adriana a job as a bondsman?" Ranger questioned. Quietly.

"She wanted the job and I was short on workers. Besides, she's family. I had to let her."

Through all this, I hadn't said anything because I was too stunned. Now after hearing Vinnie's voice, I got angry all over again.

"That's no excuse!" I snapped. "How could you let her do this? She could get hurt. She has no experience."

Vinnie gave me a look. "I hired you when you had nothing. And you blackmailed me. At least Adriana has something going for her. Like a license to carry and knowledge of self defense. When I hired you, you couldn't even tell the difference between a Glock and a rifle. Compared to you, she should be just fine."

I was officially insulted. Okay, so I wasn't exactly perfect when I first started but he didn't have to rub it in! Besides, I'd come a long way since then.

"She may have that but it's different from actually using it."

"You're also forgetting how she was once practically a cop."

"I wouldn't say practically." Adriana jumped in. "I dropped out of law school so it doesn't count."

"Adriana. Back already?" questioned Vinnie who had just barely spotted her.

"Yep."

Something then caught my slimy cousin's eye.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "Are those body receipts?"

Adriana smiled. "They are. I was gonna get Connie to take care of it."

"No problem. I'll take care of it."

She walked over and handed it over. Vinnie took them and went into his office.

"You must have had some trouble with the old guy, huh?" Vinnie asked from the room.

"It wasn't the old nudist guy that got me." she told him. "It was the drunk female that did it." She sighed. "I swear I had no idea drunk people could run so fast! I mean with alcohol being like a depressant and everything, you'd think it would slow a person down. But she was really booking it. My only bright side was that she kept stumbling so I managed to tackle her to the ground. Except it had to start raining so I crashed into many rain puddles and had to roll in the mud. It was awful."

"Yeah, it gets that way sometimes." Vinnie was out now and handing over the money when he wrinkled his nose. "Whoa! Something stinks!" He looked over at Adriana. "What did you roll into?"

She shook her head. "You don't wanna know. You don't wanna know."

Adriana then put the checks in her pocket book and started leaving.

"Hey, where are you going?" he asked.

"Home." My cousin answered. "I'm exhausted. I'm gonna take a shower, change clothes then take a nap. And if there's time, then I'll cash my money. Otherwise, it can wait 'til tomorrow."

I'd been watching the conversation getting more and more angrier. In the end, I stopped her from moving.

"Hold on a minute!"

She stopped and turned around to look at me. "Yeah?"

"Adriana"—

"Stephanie, look. If this is gonna be another chance for you to tell me to quit this job, then you might as well turn back around because it's not happening."

I frowned at her. "Adriana, look at you! You're filthy and bruised all over!"

"So? What's your point?"

"My point is that you shouldn't be doing this. It's too dangerous."

"You've been doing it for months!"

"Yeah, well…"

"Well, what? It's different? Well, I guess that works if you wanna be a hypocrite!"

"I'm not trying to be a hypocrite!"

"Then what's the problem, dear cousin? What bothers you so much? Is it because I'll be in the company of Ranger Manoso, bounty hunter extraordinaire? You want him all to yourself?"

And I lost my temper. "Damn it, Adriana! Can't you see I'm trying to protect you?"

"Maybe I don't want your protection!" she yelled right back. "Ever think about that!"

By this time, Ranger actually decided to intervene on my behalf.

"Look, Adriana." He began. "Bounty hunting is serious business. You shouldn't do this just because."

"I'm not!" She said slowly. "The reason I got this job is so I could have more lee way in watching my back."

"Don't you think you'd be safer then if you weren't working here?" I jumped back in.

"Actually no! Because it didn't help me when I had the car accident or when my car was stolen or when those psychos left that box of scorpions or when they broke into the apartment. The way I see it, if I'm gonna run into some bad people, I should at least be prepared."

I was soon exasperated. "By going after the bad guys!"

"You got a better idea!"

"Adriana! You can't take this job! You hear me?" I turned to Ranger. "Tell her she can't do this!"

"Go ahead! Say whatever the hell you want but I'm not listening. Now if you excuse me, I'm going home."

And she marched right outside. Actually, more like ran. She took off on a sprint and was at her car in minutes. I caught up just in time to see it drive off. Cursing, I got out my cell and dialed Morelli as I went back to talk to Ranger. One way or another she wasn't keeping this job.

* * *

_Adriana_

I was driving around but I wasn't feeling too good. I figured it was just stress but when I started sneezing and coughing I realized I must have gotten a cold. Super. Just super. My first stop was my parents' house. I wanted to gather up my stuff and head back to the apartment. Yes, the apartment. I didn't care what the others said. I wanted back in there. In my own place. Or as close to it as I can get. Living with my parents just wasn't going to work. I parked the car and got out suddenly overcome with dizziness. Shaking it off, I went to the door and knocked.

"Who is it!" called my Dad.

"Your daughter!" I called back.

I went inside and greeted everyone.

"Good lord!" screeched my mother. "What on earth happen to your clothes!"

"It was nothing. Just a little something that happened at my new job."

"You have a new job? Really?"

"Mm-hm. I work for cousin Vinnie."

My dad snorted. "Vinnie the weasel? That one?"

"Uh-huh. He's actually nicer now. I'd gather it's because he's aging."

"That would explain it."

"So what are you doing?" asked grandpa.

"I'm a bondsman."

There was a brief pause only broken by my mother. "Isn't that a bounty hunter?"

I nodded.

Then came the reactions. My mother freaked, my father looked in disbelief and my grandpa was asking me various questions about guns and stuff.

"Hold it!" I yelled, interrupting. "Mom, calm down. It's the same as being a cop except you might get paid more. No type of vigilante thing at all. Dad, believe it or not, Vinnie owns a bail bonds company so yes, I am working for him. And Grandpa, sorry to say it but being a bounty hunter is not as dramatic as TV."

Everyone had calmed after that and I exclaimed how tired I was and went off to take my shower. As I headed up the stairs, I was once again filled with dizziness but I was also warm. Hopping into the shower, I ended up using lukewarm water then got dressed and headed off to take a nap.

A few hours later, I woke up a bit too hot to get any sleep. Times like this, I'd sleep naked but I'd be damned if I'd do it in this house! I coughed and sneezed some more and frowned, noting that I felt sore. Wow, what a rotten cold. I decided I needed to take some medicine. I went and borrowed some from the bathroom then decided to head out. I wasn't feeling too much better but it was helping me focus. My next stop. The apartment. In there I could really relax. By the time I got there though, I felt the beginning of headache. A major one, pounding like a jackhammer. I needed to get to that bed. Driving felt like it was taking forever and I thought I'd never get there. But then I finally arrived. I walked to the apartment. I say walk because I couldn't seem to make myself run. I'd taken the elevator not up for the stairs and I got to the door way. My head was throbbing and I was dizzy and sore all over. Then I started feeling the unthinkable. Faint. I never fainted. I was never a fainter. Passing out, blacking out, losing consciousness. That never happened to me. It seemed too feminine and I prided in being slightly tomboyish. I told myself that if I was at the bed, it was technically falling asleep and therefore urged myself on. Unfortunately, I didn't make it. I put my hand on the door as it broke up into twins, triplets and quadruplets. And everything went black. 

I kept waking up off and on in a place that wasn't the least bit familiar. I was disoriented and hot. I felt stuffy like I couldn't breathe and I was ridiculously sore. My eyes were mostly closed since I didn't want to use any energy with trying to fully open them. That's how weak I was. The first time I partially woke, I got to look around the room. Just as I thought. Not mine. The bed was too big. In fact, the entire room was big. I didn't mind but I knew I wasn't at home, that was for sure. And then I was out again. The 2nd time my temperature had risen even more making me almost whimper and the lack of breath grew worse. I even felt tears in my eyes. Around this time, someone came in the room I was in and placed something extremely cold on me. My face, neck and chest. Most likely ice. It was heavenly and I let out a sigh, feeling much better. I never got a look at the person with the blessed cold but I managed to catch a glimpse of the shadow before passing out again. It belonged to a man. On time number 3, I was once again having trouble sleeping. The same person came back in and gave me a bitter liquid I realized was medicine. I sipped it, almost spit it out and somehow swallowed it down. By this time, my temp had risen and fallen, fluctuating like crazy and leaving me a bit unstable. Then, before he left, my nurse placed his surprisingly cool hand on my forehead, checking my temp. Without thinking though, I actually snagged the hand and placed it within my hands, on my cheek. A few seconds later, I turned over and ended up falling back to sleep, using the hand as a pillow.

Now I was currently awake once again. Fully, this time. Since I was, I used the time to observe my surroundings. I was in a house, that much I could tell since rooms aren't too big in apartments and most likely a guest room. How so? It was pretty much interesting. There was no merchandise showing if this belonged to any one in particular. It had that neutral, unisex thing going on giving free reign to anyone who wanted to use the room. I could hear barking downstairs meaning there was a dog in here. I debated if I should get out of bed and walk around when I heard footsteps. Hmm, stairs. That meant I wasn't on the first floor. The footsteps came closer and I waited curiously yet anxiously. I wanted to know who brought me here but I was also afraid. Even though this guy had obviously been taking care of me, I had no idea if he'd use me for something if I felt better. I was contemplating maybe hiding or something when he came in and I saw him fully. I gaped in complete and total shock. It was Joseph Morelli!

"Hey." He greeted softly. "I see you're awake." He walked over and sat on the side of the bed next to me. "You contracted one hell of a fever."

Speechless in amazement, I simply stared.

"You feeling any better?" he asked me, apparently oblivious to my reaction.

"Yeah…" I whispered with a light nod. There was a brief pause where I finally found something to say. "It was you? The ice and the medicine?" And then I recalled the clinging to the hand… "Omigod!" I squeaked. "Your hand!"

Joseph laughed and lifted up the hand that I knew I held.

"Oh, jeez! I'm sorry. I was delirious. I didn't know what I was thinking!"

He laughed again. "Don't worry about it. It didn't bother me."

"How embarrassing!" At that point, I had another thought. "Hey, Joe…"

"Hmm?"

"What am I--? How did I get here?"

"I found you."

"Found me?"

"I went to the apartment to help pack some of Stephanie's things when I found you lying unconscious in front of the door. You were burning up so I brought you here."

"Oh. Well, thanks." And then I threw off the blankets. stood up and headed toward the door.

Joseph looked immediately alarmed. "Where are you going?"

"To the apartment." I said, slipping from sight..

He quickly followed. "Are you kidding? You can't go back to the apartment. No one else is going to be there."

"Then I'll go alone."

"You can't go alone."

"Why not?"

Joseph snagged my arm stopping me in my tracks and making me face him. "Because you're sick! You just broke from a 104 degree fever! It's risky for you to be by yourself. What if you pass out again?"

"But that's just it, Joe. I won't pass out. Thanks to you, I'm perfectly fine. So I can go on my own."

Bold face lie! I'll admit it. I was lying through my teeth. Why? Because I absolutely did not want to stay in the same house with Joseph Anthony Morelli. It would be torture, I could feel it. Unfortunately, he wasn't about to make it easy for me.

"No." He told me.

"No?" I said, irked automatically because of the word. "Did you just say no?"

"That's right, I did."

"Well, that's too damn bad because you don't have a choice in the matter, Joseph!"

"Adriana, you're in no shape to be moving anywhere. Get back in the bed."

"No."

"If you don't move, I will scoop you up and carry you back in there myself!"

"Try it and I will shove my knee so far into your abdomen, your six pack will be a washboard stomach!"

And I stomped away, heading toward the stairs. He was close behind on my tail.

"Ana, you need to get rest."

"I'll get rest when I get to my bed."

"You won't be able to make it that far!"

"For the last time, I'm telling you I'm fine!"

And suddenly, I wasn't. My sense of balance turned upside down and I fainted right there at the head of the stairs, forward not backward. It would have been really dangerous if I'd fallen down the flight but luckily Joseph had caught me at the last moment. Lying me on the ground, he swiftly scooped me up in his arms all bridal style and carried me back to the guest room. I feebly tried protesting but in the end, I thought what was the point? He was right. I was sick. I was just leaving so I wouldn't sleep in the same house with him. And I'm pretty sure he knew that which is why he worked so hard to keep me from going anywhere.

He carried me all the way in with no trouble and lied me down on the bed gently and covered me up with the blankets. And now I was ridiculously exhausted and on the verge of dozing off.

"Hey, Joe?" I asked when he was at the door. "How come you're being so nice to me, anyway?"

"Because I care about you." He responded like it was apparent. "Now get some sleep."

And I did.

I woke up again to two voices. One of them was obviously Joseph's. I'd recognize his voice anywhere. The next one belonged to a female. It took me a bit longer to catch it since I was still half asleep but I realized it belonged to Stephanie. I sat up a bit after that. I couldn't make out a word they were saying but I got the feeling it had to do with me. A few moments later, the talking ceased and two pairs of feet starting coming up the stairs. I waited expectantly watching the door and sure enough, it opened bringing in Stephanie and Joseph.

"Hey," greeted my cousin softly as she sat next to me.

"Hi." I replied.

"I heard you were sick. How you feeling?"

"Much better." I sneezed suddenly and therefore received a look from them both. "Okay, okay. Almost better." I paused. "I don't know how I got sick. It just seemed to come from nowhere."

"It's because you were out in the rain, that's why."

Joseph quirked an eyebrow. "You were out in the rain? What for?"

"Because she was working." Stephanie answered for me.

And there it was again. That little cop face of his. "About that." He started. "Steph told me that you became a bounty hunter for Vinnie."

I cut my eyes to Stephanie. "Did she?"

Joseph looked at me. "You shouldn't have taken that job."

I groaned. "Oh, not you too. I got enough of that from Stephanie, here."

"Well, she's right. It's not a good idea."

"Why? Because it's dangerous? Well, so is being a cop and you're doing it quite well."

"I've gone through training."

"Stephie's a bounty hunter too, you know. How come it's okay for her to do it?"

"I never said it was okay for her. If I had my way, she'd have quit long ago."

"Really?" I felt my brain working. "Okay then. I'll make you a deal."

"Deal?" Stephanie repeated with worry. She had a right to be.

"I'll quit working for Vinnie if you, sweet cousin, quit as well."

"What!" She exclaimed.

I was grinning now. "It's perfect. I'll be safe, which is what you want and you'll be safe, which is what Joseph wants. That way everyone's happy!"

Joseph had a thoughtful expression. "You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Stephanie turned on him. "Joe!" Then she looked back at me. "We'll talk about this later." And she left the room gesturing Joseph to follow. I smiled and waved at them until the door closed.

I felt very proud of myself. I knew my cousin would react that way. She loved her job. I could tell when I was with her in Vinnie's building. She'd be very upset to have to leave it, which is just as well. Because if I had to quit, I'd be pretty depressed too.

* * *

3 days later, I was feeling great. At least on the physical part anyway not counting my lack of sleep. My fever had gone away along with my sneezing, stuffy nose, coughing, sore throat and headache. Every bad symptom was nowhere to be seen. But emotionally was not so good. 

Perhaps you're wondering how on earth they managed to keep me in this house for such a long time. Well, it wasn't easy. For about twice a day for the past three, I kept making the decision to leave and getting as far as the front door when Stephanie and Joseph caught me. Then there would be one long discussion/argument usually including me getting literally carried back to my bedroom or in a mini wrestling match. With Joseph of course. It got harder by day 2 when it became apparent I was gaining strength back. Ask anyone, I'm a hassle on my good days. And then there was Grandma Bella and Mrs. Morelli. I had opened the door on that day to find both women behind it. I'd actually seen them before through the peephole but I didn't have the guts to not answer. As it was, I ended up letting them in to learn that Joseph and gotten them to help take care of me. I did not take that well and ended up calling the guy. The conversation went like this:

* * *

"Yeah." He answered.

"Joseph Anthony Morelli!" I hissed. I never really used middle names unless I was really upset as I was at that moment. "Tell me, what the hell are your mother and grandmother doing here!"

He paused. "They made it."

"Yeah! Now why are they here!"

"To take care of you."

"What!"

"Stephanie and I are going to be at work and I didn't want to leave you alone while you were sick. If your fever ended up taking a sudden boost I wanted someone to be there."

"So you hire your grandma and mom? Are you outta your mind! "

"They're the best when it comes to this kind of stuff."

"So? Why couldn't you get _my_ parents? Or Stephanie's?"

"Tried. Couldn't get a hold of them."

"But they hate me! Especially Grandma Bella! You know she's never been happy about you two having premarital sex! And why haven't you gotten married anyway? Oh, never mind, that's not my problem!"

"Adriana, trust me. I told them both to take absolute good care of you and you know I'm Bella's favorite."

"Yeah, but"—

"Just relax and be a good patient. You'll thank me for this."

* * *

Oddly enough, I did. Sort of. I mean, he was right about them being good with sickness. They had excellent homemade remedies that actually weren't poison. Before the day was over, I felt great and I didn't get the eye put on me once. By day 3, I was actually enjoying my time here. I mean, there was a TV! With cable! And real food! Good food. Pino's, Cluck-in-a-Bucket, McDonald's, Chinese food and much more. If I still wasn't so iffy about Joseph, I might have kissed him. And then there was Bob. The Golden Retriever/trash compacter. Paying no mind to the fact that he ate everything and pooped out monstrous results, he was such a cute doggie! Steph had mentioned he did a little goofy dance when he was happy. I agreed that it was goofy and I loved him for it. More times than I could count, I spent lots of time watching TV with the dog lying in my lap. Finally, there was the nurturing I witnessed. Aside from the fun I had from having them wait on me hand and foot since I wasn't allowed to walk around until they were sure I got better, it was kind of nice and sweet. It was like being pampered and every day Joe and Stephie checked up on me. I was starting to believe what my cousin said about him. He had changed. At least a little.

But at the moment, I really couldn't have cared less. Why? Because I'm afraid I must focus on the deal with their sexual relationship. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those prudes who thinks that the very thought of people you know getting it on is wrong. No, I'm not like that. In fact, if Stephanie is getting laid and getting it good then I'm happy for her. But the thing is, I don't want to know it's happening. I don't even care if you're like half way across the world and I'd never have any evidence anything went down. I don't want to know. Unfortunately, in my case, I'm dealing with the fact that it's the middle of the night on day 4 and Stephanie and Morelli are in their bedroom. I always knew they shared a bedroom. It was obvious really since they did have something going on. But what's freaking me out right now is that I'm pretty sure they're having playing hide the salami in there. Right now. While I'm in a room next to them. That is the emotional issue I'm having. How come I'm thinking about this? Well, it all started when on my first night here I woke up needing to pee and headed to the bathroom. On my way out though, I ended up passing their bedroom. And that's where it all went bad. For I heard what was unmistakably the pounding of a bed post against the wall in an obviously noticeable rhythm. I'm not a virgin. I've had sex, good and bad in various places and I've been in a bed where the thrusting of my lover at that time ends up slamming the bed against the wall. So, I knew what the sound was. There was no question. I don't know what kept me from screaming. You'd think I'd do so. You'd think I'd have run like crazy but nope. I just quietly and slowly went back to my temporary bedroom. I didn't get any sleep that night. Nor have I gotten any sleep for the past nights since. Take now, for example. I'm staring at the ceiling in silence at 2:00 in the morning and not even getting sleepy. Because I was too scared to close my eyes. I was too scared that I'd wake up and overhear them. Doing it. As I thought about this in my misery, I suddenly made a decision. This had to stop.

I got out of bed and slipped into a robe then gathered my bag of clothes. Joseph had already retrieved my clothes and I was now carrying them out of the room. Peeking around, I saw no one and knew they must still be at it. Or else they started over. Either way, I didn't care. I snuck all the way into the living room covering my ears just in case I heard their sounds as I passed the bedroom and went to the window. I then dialed on my cell.

"This is Nina." she answered.

"It's Adriana." I whispered.

"Adriana? What is it? Why are you up so late? You don't usually do parties."

"I'm not at one. I'm at Joseph Morelli's house with my cousin. Listen, I need a ride."

"A ride?"

"Yes. I need to get out of here. ASAP. I'll explain later. Just come get me."

A pause. "Okay. Get me the address."

I did so and came up with arrangements. Since I was sneaking out, Nina would pick me up about a block away and I'd meet her. She'd call to let me know. I had planned on just waiting until the phone call but a chance noise got me even more freaked out and I ended up rushing outside. I'd already gotten a key to borrow while I was gonna be here so I gently locked the door and took off down the street. I was almost down when Nina called then I sped up and met her blue car. I hopped in and fastened my seatbelt.

"Drive. Now."

She nodded and sped away. "So what is this all about?"

I told her and as soon as I finished, she gave a sympathetic smile and a hug to match.

"That's rough, girlfriend. I don't know what I'd do if I was in that situation. So where do you wanna go?"

I thought about it. "Vincent Plum Bail Bonds office."

"Why do you wanna go there?"

"I work there. Plus my cousin is there too."

"Okay."

She drove me there and stopped in front of the building. I got out, thanked her and went up to the office unlocking the door. So many keys I used. It was pitch dark and you could barely see anything. But I wasn't needing to see anyway so I was good. Putting my bag on the floor, I used it as a pillow and finally went to sleep.

The next time I woke up, someone was gently shaking me. I blinked blurrily and looked up to find Connie, Lula and Vinnie staring at me.

"Oh. Hi guys." I mumbled sleepily.

"What are you doing here?" Connie asked me curiously.

"Sleeping."

Connie frowned while Lula let out a giggle. "I mean, why are you here?"

"I had to get out of there."

They all looked with surprise. "Where?" asked Connie,

"Morelli's house. I couldn't stay in there for one more second. Not when they're doing…Not when _I_ know that they're doing…"

"What? Doing what?"

"Don't make me say it!"

Vinnie was the first one that got it and he was blunt about it. "Their fucking sessions keeping you up at night?" he asked me. See? Blunt.

I snorted. "Not like you think but…yeah."

Connie and Lula looked horrified and embarrassed at the same time. I gathered the former was for me and the latter was for Stephanie.

"So you came running here." Vinnie continued.

I nodded. "I woke up in the dark of night and snuck out of the house. I just needed to get some sleep for once!" I looked at him. "You're not gonna make me get up are you? Or worse, make me go back? Please don't! I can't go back. No way!"

"I don't wanna have to but you can't just sleep on the floor. This isn't a bedroom you know."

"Can't you just tell them to keep it down?" asked Connie.

Vinnie, Lula and I stared at her like she was nuts.

"Are you crazy!" I screeched. "I don't want them to know I could slightly hear them! That's be mortifying. Utterly, utterly mortifying!"

"Okay, okay. Bad idea."

"Damn straight!"

"Wow…" mused Vinnie. "That's too bad. But I don't know what to tell you, Adriana."

Alarmed, I squeaked and pretty much latched onto his leg. "Vinnie!" I whined.

You can guess how desperate I must have been. I never begged anyone much less clung to any particular body part. Yet here I was holding onto my sleaze ball of a cousin for dear life. Yep, desperation.

"I _can't_ go back there!" I pleaded. "I'll do anything. Anything!"

Fortunately, Connie had some sympathy for me. "I got it. You can stay with me."

I looked at her with glee. "Really? You mean it?"

"It's just for the night, right? And besides, if I were in your shoes, I'd want someone to help me too."

"Oh, thank you Connie!" I squealed hugging her. "I owe you for this! Big time. If you ever need anything"--

She laughed. "I get it, I get it." She let me go. "Now let's get going."

"Okay. I'll see you two later!"

Connie and I left the office and were at the car when she suddenly stopped.

"Hold on." She said. "You said you snuck out, right Adriana?"

"Yeah…"

"So, shouldn't we let them know you're gone?"

"Oh, they won't care. Let's just go."

"Are you sure? What if they see you missing and jump to conclusions?"

I gave her a look. "Connie, when I left they were still in the bedroom and the door was locked. The only thing they're focused on right is now is reaching that delicious Big O. Trust me, they won't care." I paused. "But if it really, truly bothers you then you can call them at noon. By then, they should be fully awake. Can we go now? The night is passing away and I don't wanna miss out on sleep."

* * *

_Stephanie_

I woke up late. Real late. I turned over in the bed and wound up staring at Morelli right next to me. I blinked a bit in surprise. Morelli was still here? Wow… we must have really been up late. I thought back to last night and nodded in agreement. Oh yeah. We'd been up all right. I was thinking over this with a rather satisfied feeling when Morelli chose to open his eyes. He looked as surprised as me when I first woke up.

"What time is it?" He asked.

I peeked over at the clock. "About noon." I told him. "Looks like you'll be a little late. Sorry."

He shrugged. "It was worth it." He then wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me to him. "But since I won't be on time anyway…"

I smiled. "Sounds very tempting but I think we'd better check on Adriana."

"Yeah, you're right. She might be planning to sneak off right now."

We paused.

"One of us is gonna have to get up eventually if he want to check." Morelli told me.

"I know. I know. Just…give me a moment." I responded.

After about a minute, I finally dragged myself out of bed and got dressed at the same time I heard the phone ring. Figuring that she'd be downstairs anyway, I went down to answer.

"Hello?" I said.

"Stephanie?" said the voice. "It's Connie."

"Connie? Hey! What are calling for?"

"Well, it's in regards to Adriana. You probably noticed that she isn't over there"—

"What?" I interrupted, panic filling my very being once again.

"—And I wanted to tell you that the reason for that is she's at my place."

I relaxed. "She's with you?"

"Yeah. She told me to call at this time because you'd be up by now and we just wanted to make sure you and Morelli knew."

"I see. Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem. Bye."

We disconnected and I stood there looking at the phone in shock. Morelli had come downstairs by then dressed, no doubt having heard my outburst and was looked at me concerned.

"Steph?" He asked.

"Adriana isn't here." I told him, still in shock.

"What!" He exclaimed looking at me in alarm.

"That was Connie. Apparently Adriana managed to sneak out of the house and went over to hers." I gave a laugh. "I can't believe she did that."

Morelli narrowed his eyes and I knew he wasn't happy. He suddenly went outside, striding with a purpose and I followed him curious. I spotted him getting into his car.

"Hey, where are you going?" I asked.

"To get Adriana." He answered. "You coming?"

He didn't have to ask twice. I was in the car in an instant and we drove off.

We arrived at Connie's house in record time and walked up to the door. I rang the doorbell and we patiently waited.

"Who is it?" called Connie.

"Stephanie." I answered.

There was a brief waiting period and then Connie opened the door.

"Oh, hey you guys."

"Hey." I greeted. "Is Adriana here?"

I thought I saw a brief shifting of her eyes before she answered. "I'm not sure. I woke up late so she might be or she might not."

I shared a look with Morelli before he spoke. "Can we come in?"

"Sure." Connie answered.

She stepped aside and we entered. I didn't bother really looking but Morelli ended up wandering around the house curiously. Connie and I engaged in a little small talk as he moved around. And then we heard a startled squeak. Seeing Morelli wasn't nearby I knew it meant one thing and I went to the source. Sure enough, there was Morelli standing in the hallway clutching none other than Adriana's ponytail. Having gone through the same many times, I knew she must have tried to run off. She was looking very sheepish and I didn't blame her.

"Hi Joe! Stephanie!" She greeted, having been released. "What a pleasant surprise!"

I smirked. "I'm sure it is."

"So what brings you two here?"

"We wanted to confirm the fact that you snuck out of my house this morning." replied Morelli tightly.

"Oh? Really?"

"Mm-hm. Care to tell us what that was about?"

"Um… well, I was having trouble sleeping and I realized that it was because I was staying with you two. So I decided to leave. Except…" She paused.

"Except..?" I prompted.

"It wasn't this morning. It was last night."

"Last night!" repeated Morelli in that voice showing he was close to yelling.

"I felt I couldn't afford to wait another day so I called Nina to pick me up but we didn't want to risk you hearing so she decided to pick me up a block away. I then left and walked down the block and met her there."

"You snuck out the house."

"Uh-huh."

"Didn't tell anyone you were gone."

"Yep."

"And did it all in the middle of the night."

"That pretty much covers it."

And things deteriorated like lightning after that.

"Have you lost your mind!" Morelli yelled. "What the hell were you thinking!"

"That the two of you could use some privacy. And that it wasn't a big deal."

"Not a big deal! You disappear in the middle of the night and you don't think it's a big deal! We were worried sick!"

Adriana looked up at him in surprise. "You were worried about me?"

"Yeah, we were." I added in, giving Morelli time to cool off. "You really scared us."

My cousin now looked officially guilty. "Jeez, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd worry."

"You should have told us! Left a note or something."

"I got Connie to call you."

"The day after. I mean you should have told us before."

"Sorry. But it wasn't like I could knock on your door."

"Why were you having trouble sleeping anyway, Adriana?" I asked her curiously.

"Um… well…see the thing is…" she paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Has anyone ever told you, Joseph, that the walls in your house are rather thin? And that particularly in the halls, if you walk past and it's quiet you can hear just about anything going on inside the bedrooms?"

There was something insinuating about Adriana's tone that kept staying with me about her words. And then…I suddenly realized what she meant.

"Omigod!" I screeched in horror. My face had officially started blushing and I knew I was bright red. I managed to catch sight of Morelli whose cheeks were colored up as well.

Adriana was laughing. As soon as the words left my mouth, she started giggling like a ninny. "You two should see the looks on your faces!"

I suddenly had a thought. "Are you saying you didn't--?"

"Oh, I did. But not like you two think. See, you're thinking that I overheard you guys sounding like a porno movie. But I didn't, thank God. What I did hear was the damage you were inflicting to your wall. I thought it was gonna fall down. Anyway, I left because I was worried that one day I would end up hearing you sound like a porno. That's why I couldn't sleep."

The fact that Adriana didn't hear the noise Morelli and I made was such a relief but I still felt embarrassed and a bit guilty. Knowing that apparently we couldn't keep it down enough that my own cousin was too scared to stay in the same house with us was a blow to say the least.

"But it's okay. I mean, it's not like I saw you two going at it. God forbid."

I had to agree with her on that one. "So are you planning to stay here?"

Adriana shook her head. "I promised Connie it'd only be for the night. I figured I'd head back to the apartment. I mean, that is where most of my things are and that whole unsafe crisis should be done with, right?"

I had to admit she was right. But I didn't want her going back without me. And I wasn't ready to go back yet. My cousin saw that in my face and let out a light sigh.

"Okay, I won't go back. Yet. But I've gotta find another place for me to go." She said. "I'd go to my parents' but with Grandpa Marcelo, that visit may be filled with tension. And your parents' are out of the question with Grandma Mazur and only one bathroom."

"You could always come back to my place." Morelli suggested.

"I could…"

"At least until we can track down another temporary place for you." I inserted.

Adriana thought about it briefly then nodded. "Okay. Sure. But I demand warnings so I may prepare myself to sleep in the backyard. You know, when you get preoccupied."

"Preoccupied?" I echoed. "Why would we--?"

The answer flew obviously in my head at the exact same time Adriana cocked her eyebrow at us.

"Don't answer that." Morelli and I said in unison.

Adriana smirked with amusement and burst out laughing as we headed to the car.

* * *

And that takes care of chapter e-i-g-h-t! I know I said I'd put some other stuff in this chapter but I realized I'd never cram all of that into one whole chapter. So…just know that you'll see the broken ankle and the kidnappings (plural!) real soon! Until next time! 


	9. Getting to know Batman

Chapter 9 is coming up! Up next…Adriana injures her ankle! Let's get this party started!

* * *

_Adriana_

It was in the afternoon and I was busy watching television and hogging the remote in my temporary living space, a.k.a, Joseph's house. How did I manage this? Speed, my friend. I took a moment to spot Stephanie and Joseph. They looked rather bored. Apparently, we didn't have the same taste in entertainment that much. On the TV was a teen movie where two teens were in a room.

"What do you wanna do?" asked the boy.

"I don't know. What do you wanna do?" replied the girl.

"I don't know." He paused. "Wanna make out?"

"Okay."

Thus the make out session began. In other circumstances, this wouldn't bother me. But at the moment, I was horrified. Completely. Why? Because I just had the freakiest thought about my cousin and her 'boyfriend.' They were bored. And they were a couple. Just like the teens on that movie. Okay, that probably isn't anything I should be worried about. I mean, it was TV. You shouldn't believe what you see on television. And yet, I was really freaking out.

Dropping the remote, I stood up. "I think I'll walk Bob." I announced.

Steph and Joe looked at me with surprise.

"Now?" asked my cousin.

"Why not?" I replied. "He hasn't been out in a moment and I've never walked him before." And I'd be out of the nearest vicinity if they decided to have a passionate make out session.

Joseph smiled. "Okay. Just don't stay out that late."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry. I'll be quick." I gave a whistle. "Come on, Bob! Let's go outside!"

Bob came running out after about a minute in a frenzy. The first time we met, he nearly ran me over. This time, I managed to move and grip his collar basically slowing him down. He relaxed after that and looked at me expectantly. I petted him and scratched behind his ears then put a leash on him and went on our way.

We walked through the neighborhood and Bob sniffed the grass and everything while I got a look around. This was definitely a nice place to live. Eventually, he opted for the main reason we came out in the first place. To do his business. I waited patiently while he finished relieved that he was only peeing and not the alternative. When Bob was done, he got in that little happy mood of his prompting me to give a hug. Then we headed back to the house. When I arrived, I noticed something immediately. Silence. The TV was off and I could hear nothing. In fact, not counting the light in the living room—no doubt for me—everything was off. I only had one little thought before making up my mind. Giving another hug to Bob, I went to my pocketbook and grinned at my car keys. So Joseph did go back for my car. That was good news. Scribbling a brief note, I walked outside and looked around. It didn't take long for me to find my car parked in front of the house. Apparently he hadn't gotten his garage built yet. With that, I hopped in and drove off as quickly as possible.

I had no idea where I planned on going but I knew I needed a distraction. I didn't want to visit my parents again or my aunt and uncle. I didn't want to make a habit out of it. And then, it suddenly hit me. I've got a new job now! I could just go there! It's the perfect diversion. Granted, Stephanie and Joseph would probably have a fit if they realized what I'm doing but if it meant keeping me from overhearing their lovemaking, I was sure they'd be happy. I arrived at Vinnie's building and walked in to an interesting sight. Connie and Lula were leaning towards my cousin's office in total silence. Curious but not wanting to interrupt anything, I quietly walked over and placed myself right between the two of them. After a minute, I heard it. Mooing. I swear it was mooing. And it sounded like it was coming from Vinnie! Following that was laughter from a female. Lastly there was just the creaking of desk legs. I was horrified yet intrigued all at once. Whoever was with Vinnie was doing him bad. Connie and Lula must have seen my reaction 'cause they looked at me expectantly.

"What's going on in there?" I whispered.

"Vinnie's getting it on with an employee." Connie told me.

"They always do this when she wants an FTA." Lula added.

"And it always works. Even when the FTA is supposedly unavailable."

I digested the words with amazement and a bit of dislike. Whoever this woman was, she did not sound likable.

"Who is she?" I asked.

They were just about to speak when the noise suddenly stopped. Probably because they were done. The door soon opened and out she came. I about exploded right then and there.

"Joyce Barndhart!" I screeched in whispered anger. "He's boinking Joyce Barndhart?"

The bitch in question started heading our way when she spotted me. "Well, well. If it isn't Adriana. Let me guess, you got kicked out of college?"

I felt myself growl and glared hatefully at her. "You get tired of fucking dogs?" I shot back.

She glared back at me and there came the tension. Big time.

"Well, I'd love to continue but I've got an FTA to catch. Milton Wallace."

I gaped. Milton? But he was _my_ FTA! She looked at me with a smirk. "Hey. Isn't he yours, too?"

And I lost it. With one brief growl, I tackled Joyce to the floor and there we were rolling. I guess they were afraid I'd kill her because the next thing I knew, I was getting pulled off of her by Connie and Lula. But I wasn't giving up.

"Let me go, you guys!" I protested. "Let me go. Let me go. Let me go."

They wouldn't of course and I still struggled while Joyce got away and I tried to chase her. That was when Vinnie came out of his still open door. He had the most satisfied expression and I couldn't help but think that it was because Stephanie wasn't here. Little did he know that I was here and everyone knew that in temperament, I was a lot worse than Steph. He very slowly looked at us all and noted my predicament with confusion then alarm.

"Joyce Barndhart?" I said in my iciest voice.

The alarm tripled then and Vinnie instantly fled to his office. I can't describe my movements in any other way except that I flew. I basically flew to that door just as he went to close it and blocked it with my foot. I then reached in and grabbed his ear. A major weakness. Giving a nice yank and twist, I dragged Vinnie out of his office and into the open. The expressions on Connie and Lula's faces were enough to make me laugh. I would have too except that I was too pissed to find any emotion except rage.

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" I told the ladies sweetly. Then pulling again, I dragged my cousin outside smirking at his yelps of pain until we were outside. "Joyce Barndhart?" I repeated. "You've been sleeping with Joyce Barndhart?" I exploded again. "How could you, Vinnie! And I smacked him across his head.

"Hey!" he protested, holding his ear and his head. "What the hell is your problem? So I'm screwing around with another woman. This hasn't bothered you before! Hell, you never even made it your business!"

"Wrong!" I snapped. "It's always bothered me! Always. The only reason I never took it upon myself to dig into your love life and tell your wife was because I believed in family loyalty! And as long as you made sure she knew she was loved, I was okay. But now, you've crossed that line, Vinnie! You know that Joyce Barndhart is hated in the Plum family for having sex with Stephanie's former husband on her dining room table not even a month after their wedding! By fucking her, you've betrayed us! And that is unforgivable!" And I smacked Vinnie again. "You're gonna pay for it, dearest cousin!"

"Oh yeah? And just what do you plan on doing? Are you gonna tell my wife about it? You do that and I'll be dead 'cause her father will kill me and you won't have a job."

I looked at Vinnie for one full second before smirking. "I'll give you one better. I'll send them both a video of your little trysts with her and various others." Vinnie looked horrified and I continued. "See, I've only been inside that office once but I'm pretty sure I know it inside and out and there are quite a few areas where a tiny camera can be planted. To record and display goings on. As for my job, I don't care. Because with you gone, not only will I be jobless, but so will that slut! "

For the first time in my life, I saw Vinnie beg. "Come on, Adriana. What do I gotta do?"

I smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It's simple, really. I want you to stop taking sexual favors in exchange for FTAs."

"What?"

"You heard me. It's not fair to the rest of us and quite frankly it's disgusting and it pisses us off!" I paused. "You can screw her all you want just for sex sake since I know where your heart is, but don't use it as a trade! Got it?"

Vinnie stared at me for one moment before letting out a reluctant sigh. "Okay. Fine. You win."

"Great! Well, I guess I'll be heading home now."

"Home?"

"Yeah. I don't have an FTA to chase anymore." I saw a hint of guilt there. "Besides, this thing with that skank has worn me out. I'll be back tomorrow. Don't worry." I went to my car and paused to turn back. "Don't forget our deal. And remember, if you try and sneak, I'll be watching." I made my hands shape into a camera then got in my car and drove off.

I parked my car into the lot at the apartments and let out a sigh. Wow, who would have thought I'd miss this place. But I did. I missed having a place I could refer to as mine. Not Joseph's home or my parents' home. But mine. I looked forward to hopping onto the couch and playing with Rex. Yeah, we didn't have cable but I had a laptop with wireless internet access. Plus there was that cute little hamster. I walked inside and decided to head up the stairs today. I felt I could use the exercise. It was a pretty nice way and I even decided to run up the stairs since I hadn't done since I was in college. And suddenly, a step had to go out from under me. I fell quickly and felt a sharp pain that turned dull on my ankle. Wincing, I pulled my foot out of the hole and flinched at the sight. It was red, slightly cut and bruised. I had a big one directly on my ankle. Groaning, I managed to slink up the rest of the way until I finally reached the apartment. Using my knees, I stood and basically hopped on my good foot while the other was elevated then unlocked the door, hopping inside. I locked the door and hopped to the couch with a sigh, glad to not move. I wanted to visit Rex but I was still aching so I figured it'd be safer to wait. I did end up feeding him a little something then I opened my laptop and began searching. I became so engrossed in my bookmarked sites, that I barely registered the door opening. My first thought was that maybe Stephanie had figured out I was here and I was probably going to get the scolding of a lifetime. When I looked up towards the door however, I wasn't looking at her. Nor Joseph Morelli, either. I was looking at Ranger Manoso. The result being my frightened screech. Now you'd think I'd be calm or used to him and his mysterious crap. But I wasn't. All I could think about was the fact that he didn't have a key to this house and I hadn't expected him to show up. After that little outburst, I went instantly to angry.

"Stop doing that!" I yelled, irate. For this had been around the 10th time he'd done this.

He looked at me with that basic amused expression and I immediately threw a pillow at his head. He dodged swiftly which got me slightly amazed. I mean, he moved all casual like. With hardly any effort. Remembering my anger, I quickly shut off the awe.

"And quit smiling! That isn't funny! Ever heard of knocking? You're lucky I didn't have my gun or I might have shot your ass!"

That comment got something I didn't expect to see. A smile. A real one this time. The genuine article. I was that surprised to see it that I momentarily forgot my anger. But only for a moment.

My eyes narrowed. "If you're here to see Stephanie, you'll have to come back later. She's still at…she's still out. I don't know when she'll be back."

I don't know what it was but I didn't want to mention that the woman Ranger was possibly interested in was at another man's house. Call me crazy, but it seemed like common courtesy not to bring up something like that. Plus, I kinda wanted to spare his feelings. Not that I'd really ever need to but who's to say that jealousy couldn't kick in at any time? Ranger looked at me with a cocked eyebrow and I knew he got what I never said basically because I didn't exactly cover myself well. But he said nothing and gave a little shrug of his shoulders. I expected him to leave after that. Instead, his eyes zeroed in on my leg and for a moment I wasn't sure I knew why. And then I remembered my ankle. I looked at it and almost winced. It was even redder than it was before, the cuts were starting to bleed, it was enveloped in purple looking bruises and it had swollen. Gone puffy and everything.

I looked back at Ranger. "What?"

Predictably, I got that famous look of his. "How long has that ankle been injured?"

"It only happened about an hour ago."

"And you've been here this whole time?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

He looked at me as though I was some complex problem he wanted to solve. "Stephanie know you're here?"

I shook my head. "She knows I've gone out but she doesn't know I'm here. I didn't have the luxury of telling her personally."

He looked at me again and I saw a flicker of amusement. "So you've been here with that ankle for an hour on your own."

I nodded. There was a brief pause.

"Let's go."

I blinked. "Go? Go where?"

"My place."

"Your place? Why am I going to your place?"

"You don't want to go back to Morelli's place, for obvious reasons." I felt myself blush because he'd figured out the reason I wanted to stay as far away from there as possible. "And," Ranger continued. "if you wanted to be somewhere else, you wouldn't be here."

"So I have to move in with you, then?"

"No. But I'm not leaving you alone while you're in this condition."

I frowned. He was basically telling me I had to go somewhere as long as I wasn't on my own. A lot less forceful than Joseph for sure but I couldn't think of anywhere I'd want to go which basically left no other choice for me. Throughout my thinking, Ranger was still looking at me. When I looked back at him, I knew instantly that I didn't have to say anything. He already knew.

"You know, it's not as painful as it looks." I told him, still not wanting to be at his place. I know. I'm stubborn to the end. Ranger gave me look. Again. "Besides," I was saying. "I can't really walk all that well. How do you expect me to get all the way over to where ever you stay?"

I was going to regret that question. I had thought he might leave. I mean, what can you do about that? But then, Ranger surprised me like he's good at doing and picked me up. I squealed instinctively as he basically scooped me into his arms completely tensed. It's not that I expected anything in particular but you don't just pick up a woman out of the blue and expect her to relax! So, naturally I wasn't relaxing at all. I was freaking out.

"Hey! Put me down!" I protested. "What do you think you're doing, Manoso?"

"You said you couldn't walk so I'm carrying you." Ranger answered simply.

"But I don't want to be carried!"

He didn't say anything. Just gave a look that I interpreted as meaning "too bad." I got upset a bit after that. So much that I began a struggle. One wouldn't expect to get much done with a sprained ankle but I even surprised myself and perhaps even Ranger. However, it wasn't enough and I ended up carried out of the apartment.

"What about my car?" I asked.

"It'll be taken care of." Ranger replied.

Around this point, we were officially in the parking lot where I got a good view of Ranger's car. At that point, I stopped resisting. I'm pretty sure he noticed how much ease he was suddenly given because I could feel his smile but I didn't bother trying to hit him this time. I was too busy ogling the beautiful vehicle to care anymore. He placed me inside on the passenger's side and I proceeded to examine everything while he got on his driver's side, started the car and drove. I was in the midst of playing with the radio when I felt the car stop. I looked up at the silence of the engine to find a garage with a load of huge, cool looking cars. All black. I hadn't paid attention when Ranger got out so I got quite a shock when my door suddenly opened. Naturally there was the amused look but I swear I heard a laugh in there. I didn't have much time to glower because the next thing I knew, he picked me up again. This time though, I got to be on his back, which I was happy about. I'd never ridden on anyone's back since I was little and I missed it. Weird, yes. I was then carried into this building and to an elevator where Ranger pressed the button for the 5th floor. We got out and my eyes almost popped out of my head. There were a number of men about as scary looking as Ranger and all were wearing black. But oddly enough, I wasn't scared. Come to think of it, I hadn't been scared of Ranger either. Aside from the break in that almost wet my pants, I didn't find him the least bit frightening. Except during the times he was mad at me and I had to see him up close which was actually the same with Joseph. I had a brief thought that I wouldn't want to see any of these guys mad either and found myself feeling ridiculously shy all of a sudden. Ranger ended up walking over to this big, muscle bound African American guy with a shaved head. My shyness tripled and I soon found quite a fascination with the floor.

"Who's this?" asked the bald, black guy to Ranger.

"Her name's Adriana." answered Ranger. "She's Stephanie's cousin." They both looked at me and I felt my face heat up. "Ana, this is Tank."

I managed to look up and give a finger wave. "Hi." I said, in my tiniest voice. It gets that way when I'm shy and nervous.

Tank smiled and shook my hand and I nearly giggled. My God, I was flustered!

"Adriana hurt her ankle." Ranger explained to Tank. "She doesn't want to stay anywhere else and I'd rather not leave her alone so I brought her here." He gave me some keys, singling out one. "I've got work to do. Tank will take you up to my apartment. I'll check up on you later."

I was speechless in surprise. I was interested and anxious all at once. "I thought you weren't gonna leave me alone." I somehow told him.

"You won't be. Ella will take care of you."

"Ella?"

"My housekeeper."

Ranger then exited and with a little aid, I was able to prop myself on Tank's back. I had to choke down another giggle as we went back to the elevator. I handed Tank the key as requested and looked with interest as he unveiled a hidden button. It was pressed and we went to another floor where there was a single door. Using another key, Tank unlocked the door and carried me inside the apartment. I was staring hard. Everything was black! I guess I should have known but jeez! What did he have? A color fetish? Tank placed me down onto the couch, making sure to prop my injured foot. He went to the kitchen and brought some already made sandwiches to me plus some juice then left with the warning to stay off my foot. I figured it was because it was what Ranger wanted but I didn't mind. I liked him anyway. Putting my hands on the remote, I squealed and turned on his wonderful TV. Hmm, this probably wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

_Stephanie_

I was driving over to Vinnie's. I'd seen Adriana's note 30 minutes earlier and decided to see how she was. She didn't look sick anymore but she always relapsed on us. Plus there was also the concern that I hadn't accidentally scarred my cousin for life. When she was gone, Morelli ended up talking me into a little quickie despite my intuition not to. I hadn't wanted her to come back while we were busy. But after a little persuasion, I went for it. Unfortunately, the one quickie turned into 2 and then 3 and so on…Once we'd finally finished, we came downstairs to find Bob was back, Adriana wasn't and her note was on the couch. I knew automatically that she left without saying anything because she guessed what we were doing. And now I was feeling guilty. I mean, I know we're all adults but that doesn't mean you want to know—or worse, see--that someone you know is having sex. I'd feel pretty grossed out myself if I saw her having sex with someone. Hell, I still cringe at the thought of my parents doing it. So, I was trying to see how she was doing and going through ways to make it up to her if she was a bit upset.

I went into the office to find an interesting sight. Joyce Barndhart furious. She was storming out of Vinnie's private office with the most peeved expression I'd ever seen. It was enough to make me smile and I did. When Joyce saw me, she glowered again and stormed out, almost pushing me. I didn't care though. I was still amazed. I walked over to Connie.

"What happened?" I asked.

Connie grinned. "Vinnie isn't trading FTAs for sex anymore."

"He isn't?"

"Nope." added Lula smiling. "He told Joyce and she got all pissed!"

I was amazed and curious. What could have brought this on? Nothing major happened that I knew about. In fact, the only thing different was Adriana… I suddenly gasped and turned to the women,

"Hey. Adriana wasn't here, was she?"

Sure enough, both Connie and Lula were grinning like ninnies.

"Oh, she was here all right!" replied Connie.

"Ooh, girl! You should have seen it!" Lula responded.

"What? Tell me!"

I learned that Adriana had come in during one of Vinnie's tryst, got in a little squabble with Joyce and forcefully dragged our cousin out my his weasel ear for a private conversation. By the time they finished telling me, all 3 of us were laughing. I couldn't believe my ears. I always knew Adriana was a stickler for morals and loyalty but wow! She really surprised me.

Having learned where Ana was going, I headed back to my apartment. I decided not to make her come back since the whole thing with Morelli and I was a bit too embarrassing for all of us, but I would check on her. When I got to the apartment though, I got a confusing sight. Adriana's car wasn't there. I wondered if it had been stolen again but I knew Morelli would have called me by then. That was when I started to worry. Taking out my phone, I had a sudden thought and dialed.

"Yo." Ranger answered.

"Hey, it's Stephanie." I replied.

"What's up?"

"You wouldn't have happened to have seen Adriana, would you?"

I heard him smile. "Actually yeah."

I let out a sigh. "Where?"

"My apartment."

I blinked. "Why would she be over there? How did she even know where it is?"

"I brought her. She hurt her ankle and I didn't want to leave her at your place by herself. Especially since she didn't want to go anywhere else."

I felt that embarrassed/guilty feeling all over again and was glad he couldn't see me. "How'd she hurt it? Is it bad?"

"She fell through the stairs at your apartment. You should get the super to fix it. It's just a sprain but it's got a couple of cuts and bruises. She'll be off it for a while. I've got Ella and the guys helping to watch her."

"The guys are helping?"

"Yeah. She's actually very likable." There was a click on his line. "Hold on." I waited for about a minute when he clicked back on. "I guess I'll be seeing how she is." He sounded exasperated.

"What's wrong?" I was smiling and I knew he could feel it.

"Your cousin is a little picky when it comes to food."

"Well, what did you expect? She likes junk. You can't feed her health everyday."

"That's what she said." He sighed and I gave a laugh.

"I'll come by later to see how she is. Be patient with her. She was never good at being a patient."

"I'll keep that in mind."

We disconnected and I found myself laughing at the situation. It wasn't a way I'd prefer but at least my cousin was getting to know everyone better. Even if it wasn't her choice.

* * *

And that is the end of this chappie! Did you like it? I hope you did! I made this one a little shorter. But probably only a little. I'm working on making the next ones in the middle. Not too long and not too short! Wish me luck and don't forget to review please! 


	10. Stubborn? No

I'm back! And looking forward to another entry in Twice the Plum. Ready for a new chappie? "Yeah!" Okay, then! Let's get started.

Disclaimer: Nope

* * *

_Adriana_

I was sitting alone in Ranger's apartment mentally pacing. I say mentally because I learned that apparently any physical movement whatsoever was forbidden. And I hadn't the slightest clue why. Okay, I had an idea. I figured it was due to the fact that I ended up nearly killing myself when I raided his kitchen. But still, it was an accident! Accidents happen. I don't know what the problem is just because I had a little one. It wasn't even that serious. Unfortunately, I also learned pretty quick that arguing helped very little. So, I was currently just sitting all alone in the living room, reading to pass the time and waiting on Ranger Manoso to get here. It all had to do with a little phone call I made:

* * *

"Yo." Answered Ranger on the first ring.

"Hi. It's me." I responded.

"Adriana? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just…well, I'm hungry."

A pause. A very long pause. "You're hungry." He repeated.

"Uh-huh. So could you come over and bring something?"

Another pause. "Why don't you try some of the food already in there?"

"I did. But that's not what I'm hungry for."

"What do you want?"

"Something that isn't in here."

Another pause where I'm sure I heard a sigh. "I'll be over in a minute."

"Thank you."

* * *

That conversation took place 5 minutes ago and now I'm waiting on the guy to come over. Hopefully with some good food. I didn't have to wait any longer. The door soon opened and in stepped the man in black himself. His clothes were a bit more casual now. Black jeans, black shirt that practically clung to his body. I found myself keeping down a blush that startled me with its appearance. Me blushing over Ranger? What the hell? Next thing I know, I'll be blushing with thoughts of Joseph Morelli. And predictably enough, I flashed back to when I saw Joe walking around without his shirt and there was another blush near. Damn it! I jinxed myself. Stupid me. Shaking away the thoughts, I focused back on Ranger.

"Okay." He began, looking me over. "What is the problem again?"

"There's nothing to eat." I told him.

He cocked his eyebrow and looked to the kitchen where there was a nice plate of food on the table then looked back at me with the same cocked eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"Let me rephrase that. There's nothing _good_ to eat."

Ranger then gave a curious look. "Nothing good?"

"No. Nothing."

"Why is that?"

"Because you, Ranger Manoso, are a health freak." His expression went to mild surprised as I continued. "Yes. Everything in here is health food. Everything. I don't want health food. I want junk food. You know. Fried stuff. Things drenched in butter. Fudge."

He shook his head and gave a scolding look. "That kind of stuff isn't good for you."

"So? Who cares? The point is it tastes good. That's all I care about. Besides, I'm not trying to be healthy. I've lived out most of my life being healthy. It's time to be unhealthy and splurge. Where are all your goodies?"

"I don't have goodies."

"That's the problem!"

"Have you even tried some of the sandwiches?"

I gave him a look and began counting on my fingers. "I've had 3 ham sandwiches, 3 turkey sandwiches, 3 tuna sandwiches, 3 egg salad sandwiches and 3 chicken salad sandwiches. I've also had potato salad, fruit salad, egg salad, turkey salad, green salad and spinach salad. All there's been is sandwiches and salads. Sandwiches and salads. I've been up to my neck in sandwiches and salads. I've had it up to _here_"--I place my finger over my head--"with sandwiches and salads, okay? The next time I'm offered a sandwich and some salad, I'm hurling them both out the nearest window. And you don't even have chips. The least you could do is have some chips. Instead, you have carrot sticks. I HATE carrot sticks. Plus the only sweet stuff you've got here is fruit. _Fruit_! Fruit is NOT a dessert, you know. Or a snack. The closest I got to a snack was celery and peanut butter and you didn't have enough of that, either."

I was fussing. I knew that. I also knew that I was probably becoming very frustrating to Ranger Manoso. But I had to speak my peace.

"Of course, you could always just let me out of here. Then I'd go out and get it myself with no hassle towards you." I added.

By this time, he was looking at me with the look of one who had a lot of patience but wished it wasn't so. After a long pause, Ranger let out a sigh.

"What are you in the mood for?" He asked me.

"A large bucket of mixed pieces from Cluck-in-a-Bucket, please. And if you can, stop by the bakery and give me a dozen brownies."

He cocked his eyebrow at me then slowly shook his head. "I'll get Ella to run by for you."

"Thank you." I sang.

Ranger shook his head again but this time, I heard a chuckle as he used his cell phone. Then he sat down on the couch next to me.

"Don't you have work still?" I questioned.

"Yeah, but I can miss. Besides, if you're about to eat all of what you requested, I've got to see for myself."

About an hour later, Ella returned with my junk food and I immediately tore into my meal. I was halfway into my bucket and down 6 brownies later when I suddenly had a feeling and looked at Ranger. He was staring at me with a mixture of amazement and just plain amusement.

"What? A girl can't eat?" I asked, defensively.

He looked for one brief second then actually laughed. A normal laugh! Like the way regular people laugh. I frowned, rolled my eyes then ignored him. I wasn't about to try and figure out what was so damn funny. 5 minutes later, I was done with the chicken and had only 4 brownies left. Before I took them out though, I took a napkin and wrapped up two.

"For Stephanie." I explained to Ranger.

"Stephanie?" He repeated.

"It's this thing we have. Because we both love sweets so much, we always make sure to have some to give each other if one of us buys any. Plus, this'll return the favor for sharing her Macadamia nut cookies with me."

"That would explain why she had so much last time I saw her."

I nodded then scarfed down my last brownie. I was about to get up and dispose of my trash when Ranger yanked me back down, stood up and did it for me. I didn't really mind but I wished he didn't have to pull me so hard. I decided not to complain and just watch TV.

* * *

_Stephanie_

As promised, I decided to stop by Rangeman to check up on my cousin. To be honest, most of it was because I was curious. After that last phone call, I really wanted to know how everyone was handling taking care of Adriana. Especially since I knew how much of a hassle she could be. I was concerned about her, don't get me wrong. But not too much. After all, I knew Ranger. He's good at taking care of people and if he made it his job to take care of Adriana, I knew she was in good hands. I mainly just wanted to find out what was going on.

I parked in the garage and passed through the control room where I waved to Hal and the other guys. They all looked up, smiled then went back to their business. It didn't take me long to get to the elevator and using the extra key, I quickly went up to his floor and stepped in. I found Adriana sitting on the couch watching television with Ranger out of sight. She gave me a brief smile then immediately went back to the TV. My eyes then found something in Ranger's trash that prompted my eyes to widen. Did my eyes deceive me or was that a bucket from Cluck-in-a-Bucket chicken? And was that an empty box of brownies? By this point, Ranger stepped out of his bedroom.

"Babe." He greeted.

"Hey." I responded.

I thought I saw Adriana freeze at his greeting but when I peeked to look at her, she was already relaxed. Curious, I ignored it and focused back on Ranger with a cocked eyebrow.

"Fast food? In Ranger Manoso's apartment? What happened to 'that stuff will kill you'?"

Ranger shrugged. "Hey, I haven't touched the stuff. I just got it for Ana."

"Hey! You buy her junk but you don't get me any?"

"You're not in my care."

"Your care?"

"I made a commitment to be responsible for her and that includes getting her to eat. Feeding her this poison was the only way to make it happen."

"Wait." I turned to her. "You didn't eat any of his food?"

"Oh, I ate his food, alright." She responded.

Adriana then counted off a very lengthy list of all the sandwiches, salads, fruits and other healthy foods she had the misfortune of eating for the past few hours. "After hours with nothing but this stuff, I basically told him that I wasn't eating any more. He got me what I wanted after that."

"Wow." I whispered.

"It was also the only to keep her from trying to walk on that ankle." Ranger added in cutting Adriana a look.

"I was very stubborn today." She told me smugly.

The whole scene was amusing and I found myself smiling. But not just because of what was happening. But because of what I could see. I saw that Adriana and Ranger were getting along! Smiling and the works. Okay, Ranger wasn't smiling which wasn't surprising since he never smiled. But at least my cousin wasn't trying to hit him again or avoid him. That was a very good sign.

"Oh, that reminds me." Adriana piped up. "Here." She handed over something wrapped up in a napkin. "Leftovers."

I had been staring at the item in curiosity up until she said the words. Then, I grew increasingly happy. Looking my cousin dead in the eyes, I hastily unwrapped the napkin and nearly let out a squeal. Brownies! She saved me brownies. I immediately crammed the treat into my mouth and nearly had a sugar induced orgasm. Adriana burst out laughing.

"You're welcome!" She sang with a giggle.

"Babe." Ranger said, shaking his head.

Again, I thought I saw a reaction in my cousin from that word but it was gone in a flash. I was more curious than ever but left it alone. Seeing that Adriana was perfectly fine, I only stuck around for brief conversation before taking off. I was in perky spirits as I finished off my last brownie in my car. My phone rang and I knew it was Morelli.

"So, how'd it go?" He asked me. "Is she pissed at us?"

I found myself smiling at the question. There was a time with Joseph Morelli could have cared less who was upset at him. "I don't think so." I answered. "If she was mad, she wouldn't have spoken a word to me and she had a lot to say when I found her at Ranger's."

There was just the faintest pause where Morelli appeared to be dealing with me being in Ranger's place. The quick end of said pause no doubt because he processed that my cousin was also there. "Ranger's? What was she doing over there?"

"Sprained ankle. She fell through the steps at my apartment building; he found her and dragged her to his place. It's not serious but Ranger apparently thought it'd be safer if she wasn't alone with her injury."

"I'd have to agree with that. So what'll we do when she feels better?"

"I'm not sure."

It was quite a dilemma. I'd be happy if Adriana stayed along with me whenever I took a trip over to Morelli's but I didn't want to have to worry that she'd somehow overhear us making love since in all honesty we all knew it was going to happen eventually. Nor did I want her to worry. But I didn't want her all alone in my apartment either.

"Well, we still have a few days before Ranger is gonna let Ana try to walk around so I'll come up with something then." I told him.

I just hadn't the slightest clue what it would be.

* * *

_Adriana_

Stephanie had stopped by Ranger's apartment to see me and I didn't pay much attention. What got me was the conversation that followed. Pet names? That was gross. But it wasn't my first thought. My first thought was all about the word and the humor it created. 'Babe.' That's what Ranger calls Stephanie. I have to admit my mind went immediately straight to California and Florida where you see all those surfers. And then I ended up picturing Ranger in swim trunks, standing with a surf board and saying words like 'dude' and 'gnarly plus all that other surfer's lingo.' I pretty much died laughing after that. I mean, can you just picture Ranger Manoso as a surfer? Fortunately for me, Ranger was in the bathroom taking a shower and couldn't ask what was so funny. Once I got past that whole impression, I soon realized that oddly enough the word seemed to fit! Not for my cousin. That's freaky. But when Ranger said it, somehow he made it sound right. He didn't sound like a surfer guy or anything. He just sounded…Well, I don't know how he sounded but it works. Then I thought it seemed gross. And it didn't help to know that Joseph also gave her a nickname. I found this out courtesy of eavesdropping while ill.

* * *

"I can't believe you did that!" Stephanie had said, peeved. 

"Hey, come on." Joseph had replied. "You have to admit, it's a good idea."

"The only reason she said that was because she knew you'd like it."

I'd smirked after that because I knew exactly what they were talking about. My little proposition.

"And?" He asked.

Stephanie glared. "If you expect me to quit my job, you're sadly mistaken."

"And neither will Adriana."

"You're saying that you'd be fine with her being a bounty hunter?"

"I want her to be safe. But I also want you to be safe and this looks like the best way to make it happen."

"I can't believe you're actually considering her deal!"

Joseph looked at my cousin and actually smirked at her. "Cupcake, this is your cousin we're talking about here. The only person I know who is even more stubborn than you. If I can't get you to quit, what makes you think I can force her?"

* * *

The rest of the conversation I didn't catch because I had immediately left having been shaken by 'Cupcake.' I never thought I'd see the day where Joseph was using something quite sentimental. It was a shock to say the least. And now I was dealing with Ranger Manoso too. Life was getting even more twisted. 

Ranger eventually came from the bathroom dressed in sleepwear. Surprised, my eyes immediately flew to the window where I saw the sun was indeed going down. Huh. I never even noticed it. Well, I usually took a shower before bed because it saved me a lot of hassle in the mornings especially since I was NOT a morning person.

"So Manoso." I called. "Can I go to the bathroom and take a shower or is that not allowed either?"

Predicted, Ranger cut his eyes to my sarcasm and I bit my tongue to keep from smiling. "Depends." He answered. Does that leg still hurt?"

"Like I told you when you brought me here, like I told you when you blew a fit after that incident in the kitchen and like I'm telling you now, I'm fine."

He looked at me with skepticism and I knew he didn't exactly believe me. I didn't blame him. I mean, to be fair it was kinda major. I'd gone in for curiosity's sake, stepped wrong on my injury and basically lost my balance bringing down a cabinet of packages. Whilst whimpering in pain from head to toe, I was discovered by Ranger, who took me back to the living room where I got the scolding of a lifetime. And he didn't even raise his voice! Talk about unnerving.

"Go ahead." He said. "But I'll be listening and if I even think you hurt yourself, I'm getting you out."

I felt a mix of horror, indignation and an odd sense of amusement. Shaking my head, I glared at him as he held out his hand and reluctantly took it. Escorted to the bathroom, I took myself a quick shower stopping to have a whiff of the gel... I had a wet dream and a hot flash all at once. OMIGOD! I practically dived out of the shower, got dressed and rushed out of the bathroom. I ran smack into Ranger and got a burst of that manly scent that my knees almost gave out.

"Finished." I told him sweetly in a very high voice.

He raised his eyebrows to me and I hurried away before he said anything.

"By the way, what's the name of your shower gel?"

That time Ranger looked curious. "Bulgari. Why?"

"Just wondering. It smells… nice."

Yep. Nice. Understatement thy name is Adriana. I went on my way to the couch where I was halted.

"You're gonna sleep on the couch?" He asked me.

"Why not?" I asked.

He simply looked at my ankle prompting me to look as well. "Use the bed. I'll take the couch."

"I can't do that. This is your place. It wouldn't be right."

"Well, you're my guest. You're also under my care and I say you need that bed."

"But"—

"I can always just carry you in there."

I sighed. "Okay, okay. I'm going. Jeez."

I went into his bedroom and took a breath. It was huge! I suddenly didn't mind sleeping in here. I grinned and crawled under the covers enjoying the warmth. I got sleepy instantly.

"'Night Manoso." I called with a yawn. If he did respond, I didn't hear him because I was completely out.

* * *

And that takes care of chapter 10! Thank you for those still reading. And please keep giving more reviews! Eleven is on its way! 


	11. Healthy Challenge

I would like to thank everyone who is reading! I now have 8 reviews! Please, continue to give me more! I don't care if you already reviewed. Keep going! And I shall write more. (P.S. I bought Twelve Sharp! I read it and it's wonderful! So there may be spoilers in here. This is supposed to be after all the books.)

Dis: Uh-uh.

* * *

_Adriana_

The next few days went by a bit slowly. Spending the night at Ranger's place was pretty much the same as being at Joseph's house. I tried repeatedly to escape the confines of this building unsuccessfully just like at Joe's house. And I kept getting dragged firmly back to my resting spot just like at Joe's place. If it wasn't Ranger, it was his buddies that did it. Scary ass people. I nearly had a heart attack when it was decided they'd be spending a few afternoons with me while Ranger was at work. I mean, come on! They were so freakin' intimidating with their big muscles and everything, I wondered if they could even be nurturing. Come to think of it, Ranger is just as terrifying but at least I had Stephanie to vouch for him. I mean, with the cousin I know, I doubted she'd have sexual relations with a guy even potentially dangerous…to her and her loved ones. Anyone else…well, that's another story. Naturally, I paid a phone call to both of them with this little dilemma. After a 5 minute conversation, I was convinced that I'd be fine. And wouldn't you know, they were right? I was pleasantly surprised with the way they were doting on my every need and making sure I was comfortable in every way.

Of course, there were some differences. For starters, Ranger's apartment was nearly spotless compared to Joseph's home. I'm talking immaculate. Joseph's place was pretty neat too, don't get me wrong. But goddamn! If there was one thing anyone needed, it was a good housekeeper. I ended up eating in the kitchen—something I hadn't done in years—because I didn't want to risk messing the place up. I was feeling tinges of guilt just thinking about it. And then there was the color. Lots of black. I probably should have gotten used to it by now. I mean, I'd been there for a while so I got to see everyone wearing it. But no. I didn't. In fact, I started enjoying my clothes more because it was the only source of color I had! You know, when it wasn't blinding me with the sheer brightness of it. Still, there were a few good things. I had a lot more things to do when I wanted. As nice as Joseph Morelli's house is, it was only so big with only so many rooms. Other than TV, food and every once in a while, internet, I didn't do much. Walking Bob does not count as something entertaining, despite the fact that I'm crazy about the dog. Ranger may have an apartment but he owned an entire building with various floors that I could freely visit just about.

Currently, that's just exactly what I was doing. As my leg healed, I was finally allowed to walk around. Mostly because Ranger wanted me to get used to putting my weight on it again, which sometimes meant forcing me to get up and move when I was feeling lazy and didn't want to. But hey, I wasn't complaining. Anymore. Anyway, I'd taken a trip downstairs to the 5th floor since everyone else was there and happily occupied myself with a computer. I wasn't sure if I was allowed but no one ever said anything, so I just went on my way. Right now, I was playing a little videogame in complete concentration. But I did manage to catch wind of something. Total silence. It was like all the sound got sucked out of the room. I knew automatically Ranger must have come in. Every time he did, all noise and talking ceased instantly. I didn't bother to look up and acknowledge his presence. Not that I needed to. I felt his hand land gently on my shoulder as he leaned to look at the computer.

"Hi, Ranger." I greeted keeping my eyes on the screen.

"Having fun?" He asked with a smile in his voice.

"Yep."

"How's your leg?"

"Better."

Suddenly, Ranger leaned over and clicked off my game.

"Hey!" I snapped, twirling around in the chair to glare at him. "I was playing that."

"And now you aren't."

I gave him an evil glare and snorted in distaste. He just looked at me amused.

"Now that I've got your undivided attention, let me see your leg."

Still glaring, I spun around to face him and obeyed, resisting the urge to squirm or possibly kick him. I happened to be very ticklish so this was very uncomfortable. Ranger gingerly handled my ankle scoping it out intensely. I managed to keep absolutely still for a couple of moments. And then I burst into a fit of giggling and ended up nearly falling out of the chair. Ranger released me after that and I blushed furiously filled with embarrassment. He didn't say anything but I saw a slight twitch near his mouth and I knew he'd been entertained. After that, he pulled me to my feet and got me to walk. I circled the room and he nodded, satisfied.

"Looks like you've completely healed." He acknowledged.

"Yay!" I cried, jumping in the air. He cocked an eyebrow and I blushed. "I'm just happy to have my leg back." He gave just the barest shake of his head before taking out his cell. "Who you calling?" I asked as he dialed.

"Stephanie. So she can take you home."

"Already?"

"Now that your ankle is better, you don't need a sitter." He looked at me. "Is that a problem?"

"No. It's just…" I hated to say it but I didn't want to go. Not yet. It was kinda fun being here plus it wasn't like I had to worry about overhearing Ranger having wild and crazy sex with my cousin on a regular basis. For the moment anyway.

This time Ranger really smiled. "You know where this place is now so I won't mind if you decided to visit."

I perked up. "Really?"

"Just be sure to call ahead if you wanna stop by my apartment."

I got really happy after that. So much that I actually jumped up and hugged him. Shock! But not nearly so much as him hugging me back. Naturally, I let go which was convenient because that was when Stephanie answered. Ranger left to go speak and I took this time to think over everything. I could not believe I hugged Ranger. What the hell was I thinking? Hugging someone is a sign of affection. I should not be giving Ranger Manoso signs of affection. I shouldn't even be thinking about him with affection! Why would I even do that? I hated him only a few days ago. Albeit, I don't feel that way now but still… He doesn't deserve a hug much less from me. And yet, I was happy to do it. Obviously, I had some stuff to think about.

The phone call was quick and I was told Stephanie would be arriving shortly. I decided I needed to retrieve my things and went back to Ranger's apartment. I came back down with one suitcase in time to meet with Stephanie who'd just entered the control room. One brief farewell later—not counting the immense flirting that went on right in front of me—Stephanie and I went down to the garage and headed out. Our first stop was Joseph's house so I could deposit my stuff. I gathered this meant I was expected to stay here again, which I wasn't sure I was happy about. But I decided not to speak about it. There'd be time for that later. We all met in the living room and Joe of course, basically shoved his tongue down Stephanie's throat leaving me feeling like such a 3rd wheel. Before that though, he greeted me with a hug. That's right. A hug. I don't know what surprised me more, his hug or me returning it with quite some enthusiasm. I was spared thinking about it once the lip lock started. I then sprinted to my room, hurled all my stuff on the bed then bolted down the stairs and out the door, yelling goodbye on my way out. When they finally got away from each other, Stephanie joined me outside and we took off towards the bonds office.

"Hey, you two." Greeted Connie from her desk as we came in.

"Hey." Responded me and my cousin.

"We heard about your ankle." She told me. "How is it?"

"Much better now." I said.

At that point, the door to Vinnie's office swung wide open and out he stepped. "So you're back in top condition?"

"Yep."

"Good." And he took a bunch of files off Connie's desk, shoving them into my hands. "I'm drowning in FTAs here. We need to get some bonds in."

Before I could reply, Stephanie snatched the bonds out of my hands.

"Hey!" I cried. "Give those back!"

"You aren't taking these." She told me sternly.

"The hell I'm not!"

"Vinnie, take them back"

"No one made you boss!"

I wrenched the files from her. She yanked them back. I grabbed hold of them again. She tightened her grip. I narrowed my eyes at her and she narrowed her own back and we stood there glowering at each other over the files.

"Let go, Adriana." Stephanie ordered.

"Not a chance."

"I won't let you go after FTAs!"

"You don't really have a choice!" I snapped. "And what is your problem anyway? You don't think I can do it?"

"That's exactly what I think. This isn't like fiction. You have no idea what you're getting into."

"Really? Is that so?" I released the files causing her to stumble a little. "In that case, take the files. And I'm going with you."

The brief stint of relief in Stephanie's expression was immediately replaced with alarm. "What?"

"You seem know more about being a BEA than I do, so you should be able to show me the ropes no problem." I smirked. "You obviously knew what you were getting into when you got this job, right?"

"I don't care who does it!" snapped Vinnie, interrupting. "Someone go out there and get me back my money! If no one goes out there soon, I'm calling Joyce!"

"No!" Lula, Connie, Stephanie and I yelled in unison.

Stephanie and I shared a look for one second then she let out a resigned sigh.

"Okay." Agreed Stephie. "You can come with me. But only so you can see just how dangerous this is."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Whatever." I answered.

She sighed again. "Let's go."

* * *

And that ends this chapter! Boy, this is fun! I'm gonna start on the next one right away! Read and Review peoples! 


	12. Bounty Hunting? Uh Oh

I'm going to do Stephanie Plum again! Just a few more chapters and I'll split it into another volume. Title? Double the Plum. It'll be easier than going past 30 chapters which will happen at this rate. Anyway, I shall get started with chapter 12!

Disclaimer: In my dreams.

* * *

_Stephanie_

We were heading to our next FTA. Madelyn Turner. Wanted for assault to her husband. I was looking at her file. She was middle aged with brown hair and glasses. Rather plump. I frowned with that knowledge. Adriana was sitting beside me humming to herself and leaning over to read as I drove and read at the same time.

"What's the matter?" she asked, seeing my expression.

"Nothing. It's just hard to believe such a sweet old lady could be wanted for assault."

"Maybe he was cheating. Remember how you were with your ex?"

I remembered all right. I didn't just try to hurt him. I tried to kill him. The memory brought forth a fresh burst of rage I hadn't felt in a long time. But I shook it off. No need to dwell on the past. We parked in front of her house and I got out of the car.

"You stay here." I told my cousin, who was just about to follow me.

"What?" she protested.

"You wanted to see me work, didn't you?"

Adriana frowned and I prepared myself for an argument but she surprised me when I didn't get one. Instead, she sighed and just sat back down. I looked at her for another second before heading to the door. After a swift knock, Madelyn stepped out and I gave her the basics.

"Oh dear!" she exclaimed. "I must have forgotten. I don't suppose we could do this another time?"

I shook my head. "I'm afraid not."

"I see. Well, alright. But would you give me a minute to dress? I'm still in my house clothes."

I nodded. "Sure."

"Thank you, dear. You can come in if you like. No need to stay out there."

I smiled and followed her in.

"Help yourself to some food, too if you want."

When she was out of sight, I helped myself to some cookies and waited. 3 minutes later, I was starting to worry that maybe she was trying to trick me. Then the toilet flushed and I relaxed again. 3 minutes passed as I ate more cookies. Another 3 minutes passed and I was sure something wasn't right. It was then that I heard the screeching of tires followed by a loud bang. Immediately, I ran outside.

The first thing I saw was my car had been moved. It was now in front of the garage and blocking a car in. And of course, Adriana wasn't anywhere around. That's what bothered me. Before I could think about where she went, I heard yelling from one of the yards. Instantly, I ran at top speed two houses down to find Adriana in the front yard wrestling around with our FTA. I was a bit stunned at first so I didn't automatically move. It was only when my cousin narrowly missed getting kicked that got me going again. I grabbed Madelyn's arms and pressed my knee into her back. Adriana then fastened the cuffs on her and we moved to the feet. When Madelyn was finally still, we both flopped to the ground to take a breather.

"Nice timing." She told me with a smile while catching her breath.

"Thanks. Nice wrestling."

Adriana then burst out laughing and I joined her.

"Sorry about your car."

"It's okay. It's been through worse. We'd better get going."

"Yeah."

We heaved Madelyn up and dragged her to the car. Drag being the operative word since she did not want to move. It seemed to take forever but we finally got her in the backseat. Closing the door, we went to our sides and headed to the station. It didn't take us very long and I was actually in a better mood now. We'd made this capture relatively easy, minus the almost sneaking away. Rotten old hag. I was beginning to think that perhaps I'd overreacted about the job. After all, if Lula can do it then why couldn't my cousin?

We got to the station and once again, dragged Madelyn out the car. Having to remove the leg shackles, this woman did not want to budge and it took both of us really pulling to get her inside. By the time the cop met us, we were pooped all over again.

"Who knew she could struggle like that?" Adriana said as when we got back to the car.

"Yeah, they tend to surprise you."

"So what should we do now? Go after more FTAs or no?"

I was surprised she was asking me but I also felt good. This meant she wasn't in that much of a hurry to this thing on her own.

"Well, there's still a lot left over. Why don't we try to get a few more before heading back? At least enough to shut up Vinnie."

She agreed and we headed out. We were lucky enough to get something easy for the first 2. Indecent exposure and destruction of property. They all came willingly enough and it didn't take much. Mainly because both of those were accidents. Now we were on FTA#4. William Sanderson. Robbery. We drove up to his place and saw it was rather decrepit. I could feel my cousin cringe next to me.

"Well, if we want a motive, this would be it." She said.

She definitely had a point. We got out, walked to the door and I knocked but got no answer. I knocked again a bit louder and still nothing.

"I guess no one's home." I mumbled.

Adriana frowned for a second then turned the knob. It swung open and she walked in.

"Ana!" I cried in alarm.

"Don't worry. The door was unlocked so it doesn't count."

I stared at her as she continued to walk in, shook my head and followed. No matter what I thought about her logic, I knew I couldn't let her go in alone. We split up at the living room for a more thorough search and I was looking at the bathroom. I shuddered and quickly stepped out. That place was too gross for words. I hadn't made up my mind where else I wanted to go when I heard my cousin scream.

Alarmed, I ran to the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" I cried, finding her standing on the table.

"Cockroach!" she exclaimed, looking frantically around.

I stared at her. "That's why you screamed? Because of a bug?"

"Not just a bug, Steph! A cockroach. You know how bad I hate cockroaches."

I sighed. "Just get down and let's go."

She shook her head. "Uh-uh. Not while that thing is still in here."

"Are you kidding me?'

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"What will it take to get you down?"

"Seeing that dead cockroach."

I inwardly flinched. Great. So that meant in order to make my cousin move, I had to kill the cockroach myself… I really did not want to do that.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"I don't know.''

"You don't know? How am I supposed to kill it if I don't know where it is?"

"Look for it?"

"Oh for the love of everything holy…" I began.

I stopped speaking because of the sound of footsteps behind me. Simultaneously, my cousin and I both turned to see a shirtless guy in boxers staring at us. We both froze. He looked at us for a long time then suddenly smiled this goofy grin. It was around this time that the rank stench of alcohol reached our senses.

"Drunk?" Adriana asked.

"Drunk." I clarified.

We both frowned. Drunken people were never easy. This meant things were about to get that much harder.

"Why don't you think he's doing anything?" she whispered.

"I don't know. Maybe he thinks he's dreaming."

We stood there looking at the drunken guy and very slowly I went to the table and carefully helped Ana down. When William still did nothing, I decided to take a risk.

"William?" I asked.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"I'm Stephanie Plum and this is Adriana Plum. We're BEAs and it's our understanding that you skipped your court date. We need for you to reschedule."

His eyes focused a little bit more and he frowned. "You do, huh? Do I have to go now?"

"Yes." Replied Adriana and I in unison.

He nodded and went into the kitchen to get something out of the drawer. He came out with a shot gun! "Well, I don't want to go and you can't make me!" And he fired.

Adriana and I hit the floor, flipped the table over and hid behind it. The shot veered off completely though and hit the window. Obviously a drunken person and a gun was not a good combination. Soon enough, he fired some more.

"What the hell did you say to him?" she yelled over the gunfire.

"I didn't say anything! He just went nuts! Hell, you were there! You heard."

"Oh super. That means we're trapped with a psycho!"

"He's no psycho. He's just drunk."

"Same difference."

A shot ricocheted off a corner of the table prompting us to scream and dive lower.

"We're gonna need to shoot back if he keeps this up." Ana concluded. "Where's your gun?"

"I don't have it." I answered.

"What? You don't have your gun? And you call yourself a bounty hunter? What kind of bounty hunter doesn't carry a gun?"

I glowered. "What about you? I don't see your gun anywhere."

"I was incapacitated. That doesn't count!"

Again, we were interrupted by another shell zooming ridiculously close to us.

"Incapacitated? You just hurt your ankle!"

"And Ranger basically held me in his apartment with no freedom to go anywhere. You had access to your gun."

It occurred to me by this time that suddenly things were very quiet. Adriana realized it too and we both shut up. Slowly, we peeked around the table to see William still pulling his trigger with no results.

"Oh, thank God. He's out." I breathed.

"He doesn't look like he knows it yet." Ana commented.

"That's because he's drunk."

"Well, now what?"

"Now we catch him."

She paused. "Okay." And she took out a stun gun.

"Ana!"

"Steph, this guy tried to shoot us." She frowned, seeing my expression. "Look, I just wanna knock him out. Not hurt him. Although he'd deserve it."

"Let me just talk to him first. See if he'll come willingly."

Ana cocked an eyebrow at me like I was nuts, but nodded. I counted to 3 and the two of us stepped out. William was busy looking at his gun weirdly. Once he spotted us, he pointed and fired but of course, nothing came out.

"You're empty." I told him. "Just come with us. Let's not make this any harder."

Did he listen? Nope. Instantly, he dropped the gun and bolted.

"We should have just stunned him!" Ana said as we chased him down.

I gave her a glare but didn't speak. We ended up running all around the house. Up the stairs. Down the stairs. All around. Things got more frustrating as he ended up climbing out a window. By the time we got there, he was standing on the roof, his legs wobbly because he was intoxicated. But he was sober enough to make a demand.

"If either of you come out here, I swear I'll jump!" He yelled.

Adriana took a long look at me. "Don't stun him, you said. Not yet, you said. Let me talk to him, you said. Maybe I can reason with him, you said."

"Okay, I get it. I get it." I snapped.

"William!" she called. "Come back in!"

"No." He said. "Go away or else!"

Suddenly, we heard the screeching of sirens. Loud and coming closer. Confused, we looked down to see dozens of police cars park themselves right in front of the house. Needless to say, we were shocked. Adriana more than myself. Adriana was freaked.

"What the hell are police cars doing here?" she shrieked.

"Someone must have called them after the gunshots."

"This is fucking ridiculous." She paused, noting some with walkie talkies in hand. "Just who are they calling anyway?"

William noticed the police too and got really antsy just that quick. So much that in his attempt to back away, he lost his balance and started falling over. Without thinking, Adriana shrieked and dived out the window to catch his legs. Alarmed, I jumped out and grabbed hold of her. We managed to stop the guy from going over only now we were in a weird position. I was against the wall clinging to my cousin's waist while she was holding William's legs as he was inches away from the edge and out like a light.

"Adriana." I scolded with some frustration.

"We don't want him hurt, right?"

I sighed, shaking my head. I was sure things could not get much worse and then I heard the window suddenly fall shut behind me. We both froze and I could my eyebrow twitch.

"Uh oh." Adriana whispered.

"Tell me that window did not just close."

"Maybe it isn't locked."

I yanked Ana up enough to make sure she wouldn't fall before giving it a shot. It wouldn't budge. "You were saying?"

"Oops. I guess we're stuck."

"That's just great."

"So now what?"

"We wait until the police help us out."

There were more cars now and everyone was officially out of their vehicles looking up at us. A few cops had moved to the back of the house. I spotted Costanza and Big Dog as well as a few other familiar faces. They had big grins on their faces and I just knew Morelli would be hearing about this.

"Hey! Are they laughing at us?" Ana questioned, her tone filled with outrage. "They are laughing at us! Those jerks!"

She stopped speaking due to a strange creaking that reached our ears. Suddenly, all the shingles we were on seemed to give way and we literally slid clear off the roof. We landed with a thud and a scream into the front yard. Me on top of Adriana and her on top of William still out.

"Oww!" My cousin whined.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you think?"

"You'll live."

I rolled off of her and she rolled off our FTA. Every cop had basically rushed over at top speed when we fell. Seeing we weren't hurt, they relaxed and just helped us up.

"You two, okay?" One of them asked. Joshua Miller.

"Peachy." Adriana commented.

"Fine." I replied.

Costanza gestured to William. "FTA?"

We nodded. Two other cops scooped him up and carried him to his car, volunteering to turn him in for us.

"I haven't had an accident like this since I tried flying off the roof." Ana said after Josh left.

I smiled remembering. "Copying me."

"I can't believe I had to fall on him."

"It could have been worse. He could have fallen on you."

She shuddered. "Good point."

Morelli's car came up to the house with Ranger's close behind. They both got out and spotted us quickly.

Adriana gulped. "They don't look too happy."

She was right. Morelli had his cop face on full blown and Ranger didn't look any nicer. They walked over to us and before they officially got within range, Ana made a little squeak and hid behind Big Dog, clutching his shirt. He looked taken aback and an amused grin formed on his face. Morelli and Ranger looked as surprised as Big Dog first was and I had to resist the urge to burst out laughing.

"They're not going to hurt you, Ana." I said.

"Are you sure?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "They look like they could hurt someone."

I laughed that time. It was too cute seeing her act this way.

"If we did, it wouldn't be you." Morelli said, now a bit amused himself. "Trust me."

Adriana peeked from behind Big Dog to look at him. Then she looked at Ranger, who did nothing except smile. After a minute, she came from her hiding place.

"All right. Now why don't you explain exactly what the hell happened here?" Morelli said.

* * *

And that's it for this chapter! At the most, I'll reach chapter 20 before I begin the sequel. At the least, well, that could be any time. I'm looking forward to it! Don't forget to review! Until next time! 


	13. Relaxing

It's time for Chapter 13! In my Stephanie Plum story…

Disclaimer: Of course not.

* * *

_Adriana_

We were standing outside our FTA's house. Stephanie, Joseph, Ranger and myself. Or should I say, they were standing. I happened to be sitting on the hood of Joseph's car trying to occupy my nerves. Steph and I had already given our statements for the report. The other cops had all left taking William with them along with the paramedics and fire people so it was just us. I know this shouldn't bother me but I was nervous just the same. They were being too calm over here. I didn't trust it one bit.

"Okay." Began Joe. "Tell me again what happened here. All of it this time."

Stephanie and I exchanged glances then I let out a sigh. "Well…" I started. "We were out bounty hunting right…"

And thus I told the story. Only my increasing nervousness had me rushing through my words so it all came out really fast with everything running together as I explained it all in one breath.

"Whoa, whoa!" interrupted Joseph. "Slow down and breathe. I didn't catch that."

I blushed. "Sorry."

Stephanie then took the liberty to repeat what I'd said. Only slower. I'd grown even more nervous as I watched their expressions change from absorbing the words and soon averted my eyes to the ground. Silence descended and I felt dread as I waited for the inevitable.

"You broke in this guy's house and he shot at you." Joe repeated.

"Yeah." Steph and I answered in unison.

"And you're both all right?"

We nodded.

"Good to know."

My head snapped up in surprise as he then proceeded to converse with Stephanie and Ranger briefly. I wasn't entirely paying attention because I was shocked. What the…? Where was the outburst? I certainly didn't expect this. Not that I wasn't happy about it. Because I was fucking overjoyed. Still… I was kinda unnerved. Just a tad.

"Ana. Hello?" I heard Stephanie say.

"Huh? What?" I answered out of my thoughts.

"I asked you if you still wanted to go FTA hunting?"

"Oh." I shook my head. "I think I'm done for today. I'm pooped."

"Well, I've got a few errands to run so Joe's gonna take you home."

I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that seeming as how "home" was currently Joseph's house, not to mention I'd be in a car alone with him. But I was too tired to bother making a fuss so I just nodded and hopped off the hood going to the passenger side door. Stephanie and Ranger went to their respective cars. I almost forgot Ranger was there because he was so fucking silent. If it wasn't for his intense presence, I probably would have. But Ranger did leave quite an expression.

I waved to them both only expecting my cousin to wave back. Which she did. But to my surprise, so did he and it actually got me smiling. And then everyone took off. 5 minutes into the ride, I turned to Joseph Morelli.

"So are you waiting until later to yell at us?" I asked.

He looked at me. "No. I'm not planning on yelling at you at all."

"You aren't?"

"Don't sound so surprised. I happen to be a calm person."

I narrowed my eyes. "Since when?"

He gave me a look. "Since you were too young to remember."

I rolled my eyes. Of course he'd point out that I was younger than he was. He always did that.

"Besides," Joe continued. "I've noticed my yelling tends to make you uneasy. And if I'm going to share my house with you, I wanna make sure you're comfortable staying there."

Once again I was surprised and currently, I stared at Joe. And then I slowly smiled. Well, that was something nice to know. Of course there was the issue with overhearing him and Stephanie in the throes of passion… but there'd be time to get into that later.

When we got to his house, I got out and stretched with a big yawn. Wow, I was more tired than I thought. I beat Joe to the door, unlocked it and headed in. On cue, Bob trotted right on over and nearly tackled me to the ground. I only say nearly because rather than being flat on my back, I was on my ass as Bob sat on my lap hindering my movements. Joseph gingerly dragged the dog off of me and helped me up. Thanking him, I dusted myself off and hurried to the guest room for a much needed nap.

* * *

_Stephanie_

I arrived at Morelli's to find Adriana sitting on the couch watching _Ever After._ I wasn't surprised. She loved that movie. It was hers because I wasn't too fond of it myself but if she enjoyed it, that was fine by me.

We greeted each other with a wave and smile. Bob tried to knock me over in our greeting and after helping himself to the food I brought, he trotted off to do his own thing. And then Morelli came in from upstairs. Before either of us got a "hi" in, Adriana suddenly got up and headed toward the stairs moving awfully fast. She was stopped short when Morelli grabbed her pony tail. Squeaking, she halted and glared daggers.

"Stop doing that." She snapped.

Morelli released her hair but didn't let her go. "Where are you in a hurry to?"

"Nowhere. I just wanna get upstairs to read this book. I'm really into it."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yep. Plus I can be in my room with the door locked and music cranked up."

The last thing she said under her breath but we managed to catch it. I had a feeling where this was leading but I wanted to confirm it.

"Why would that matter?" I asked.

"For your privacy." She then covered her mouth but it was too late.

I felt irritation. "We need privacy, why?"

"You're both in the same room, you just got home and you're happy to see each other. That's why."

"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Morelli. "Do you think we have that much trouble keeping our hands off each other?"

"Yes."

I felt my eye twitch.

"Look. You're going to kiss and I know you're going to kiss because you always kiss when one of you comes home. And it's not gonna be one of those chaste kisses that adults do in front of kids. It's gonna be a really passionate one that lovers do and that you both tend to do while you conveniently forget that you happen to have someone staying over because that always happens. And because the kiss is so passionate, you'll both end up getting aroused since that always happens too. And then one of you with make a suggestive remark, most likely Joseph 'cause he's the guy and he's Italian, and then you'll head upstairs to satisfy your desires because that too, is a constant. So rather then go through all the trouble with witnessing that overly graphic display of affection, I'd like to just save us all some issues and go up to my room until further notice."

My eye had stopped twitching now but I felt kinda bad and embarrassed again. Were we really that predictable?

"You don't have to run to your room." I said. "We're not gonna jump on each other now, you know."

"You want us to promise we'll keep our hands off each other?" asked Morelli.

"If you're serious, I'd appreciate it." She said. "And it's only when I'm around. When I'm not here, you can do whatever the hell you want. As long as it's not my room."

So we promised. I couldn't believe I was promising my cousin I wouldn't touch my boyfriend in her presence and I wouldn't set foot in her bedroom when I touched my boyfriend. But it made her happy and if Morelli of all people was willing, what the hell.

"I'm glad we had this chat." Adriana said. "But I still gotta go upstairs. I have to get ready for dinner at my parents'."

"Your parents'?" I repeated.

"Yeah. They thought it'd be a good idea to follow Aunt Helen's trend and have dinner every week too. But instead of Friday, it's every Saturday. I promised them I'd come to try it out. If it works, Mom will make it permanent."

Adriana headed upstairs to get ready. While she was gone, Morelli and I took the liberty to retreat to the kitchen where we did have that make out session we missed. Hey, it was only fair.

* * *

I think I'll stop it here. I'm almost done with volume 1! About 2 more chapters should do it. Then we'll do volume 2. I can't wait! Keep reading! 


	14. Moving Back In!

Next chapter! I know it'll be over 15 now but it won't pass 20. Even if I have to cram it all in there. Anyway, I'll begin.

Disclaimer: shakes head

* * *

_Adriana_

I drove down the familiar streets of the Burg feeling rather relieved to get out of Joseph's house. It was a nice house and I was actually liking Joseph more, the more I got to spend time with him. The problem was having to witness the physically intimate relationship he had with my cousin. But the truth was, it wasn't so much as gross as that it was making me jealous that she was getting some and I wasn't getting any. And I hadn't gotten any in years. Jealous. Of my cousin! I sighed. God, my life was crappy.

I made it to my parents' house in record timing and parked in the driveway. What I needed was a distraction and this would be the perfect way to get one. Somehow, being with your parents just shut off all thoughts of sex. Hopping out of my car, I barely even closed the door when my mom came out the front door. With a squeal, she rushed over and we did the hug thing. I wasn't the most affectionate person but I always hugged my mother.

"Adriana!" My mother exclaimed. "You're just in time! Dinner is almost ready. Be a dear and help set the table, will you?"

We hurried inside together and I rushed to the dining room while my mom went to the kitchen. The china was already on the table so I just put them in their places. 10 minutes later, my mom came in with the food and everyone found their places. It was actually a hell of a lot more peaceful compared to my aunt and uncle's house. Probably because there weren't that many of us here. It was definitely spacious. But some things were similar. Like the lack of conversation. I didn't quite mind it actually. I mean, we were eating. If you spent time talking instead of eating, you'd never finish on time. It takes away valuable consumption time. So usually, we save the talking for when we're done and sometimes during dessert. Dessert's usually something to finish you off so no one really gets too much of that anyway. Other than that though, no words are necessary. Unless… it's something important. Talks at the dinner table with dinner always mean something important at my house. Always. Good or bad, well… one never knew. So when my mom said she wanted to speak with me, I knew I should listen.

"What is it?" I asked her, kinda nervous.

"It's nothing serious." She responded. "I was just wondering how you were handling staying with your cousin."

"I'm handling it just fine. It's nice to hang with her and her, um, boyfriend."

"Her boyfriend?"

"Oh yeah. See… the apartment has needed a little work done so we've been staying at his place for the moment."

Yes, this was a lie. But if I told my mom the truth, she'd have kittens. And my dad… forget about it.

"Who is her boyfriend?" asked my mother.

"Um…" I was hesitant to say. Uncle Frank might not have known much about what Joe did with Stephanie other than the bakery incident but my father sure did. He probably wouldn't be happy knowing I was staying with the guy. On the other hand, **I** wasn't the one sleeping with him. "It's Joseph Morelli."

My dad's eyes perked right up and narrowed. "Joseph Morelli? Stephanie is with a Morelli boy?"

"I thought that was just a rumor." My mother commented. She didn't quite like him either.

"No, it's true." I told them. "He's supposed to have changed now and become a one woman kinda guy."

"Really." Both my parents mumbled. There was disbelief there.

"You buy that bull?" Grandpa Marcelo asked me pointedly from his plate. Another anti-Morelli.

Hell no. But it's probably safer to keep that to myself. "Oh yeah. You should see him now. You'd never be able to tell he was once a womanizing pig." I could not believe I said that with a straight face. "Besides, Aunt Helen and Uncle Frank think so. I heard Joe has had dinner with them so many times, he and Steph are almost married."

All my relatives stared at me in surprise.

"Well, if Frank is okay with it…" conceded my dad.

"It is nice that Stephanie is moving on from that ex-husband." My mother said seconds before she looked at me. "How are you doing sweetie?"

I inwardly sighed. She was worried she'd bring up bad memories. I was never married but I did have a fiancée. I was lucky enough to catch him cheating on me weeks before the wedding and like a good Jersey girl, I nearly killed him. I try not to think about it.

"It's okay, Mom. I'm doing fine." I replied.

"That's good." She paused. Something else was on her mind.

"What is it? You can say it."

"Well… join me in the kitchen."

I got up quickly and followed her. When my mother was sure we wouldn't be heard, she looked at me.

"Let's face it. Your cousin is with a Morelli and everyone knows how their libido works. I'm willing to bet that they have quite the active sex life. And you sharing a house with them… that's gotta be uncomfortable. Am I right?"

I was flustered. My family was known for being blunt but this was nuts. And what's worse is that she fucking hit the nail on the noggin. I had no idea what to say. Just as well because she seemed to get her answer.

"That's it, then. I think it's time you moved back to the apartment." My eyes widened. "Come on, I'll follow you." She continued. "It'll give me a chance to see what it looks like."

I should have been worried but currently I felt like grinning. Yes! A free pass back into the apartment! Thank you, Mom! She gathered up some leftovers for me to take and we headed out.

When we parked into the apartment building, I felt a bit of nostalgic joy. I was at my place! Sorta. Giggling, I escorted my mom to the apartment, unlocked the door and rushed right in. It felt so good to be here. I left my mom to look around as I played a bit with Rex, the hamster. It was then that my cell rang. I looked at the caller ID, excused myself and headed into the bedroom.

"This is Adriana." I answered.

"Ana, where are you?" the voice responded.

"Hello to you too, Stephanie."

"Well?"

"I'm at the apartment."

"What?"

"It was my mom's idea. She wanted to see where we were staying."

"Why?"

"Well, I told her how they were working on it and figuring that it was finished, she decided I should move back in. You can stay over there though."

"Move back in? You can't."

"What can I do? She's insisting. You want me to tell her that the reason we moved out was because someone tried to kill us? I don't think she'd like that."

There was a pause.

"Look, Steph. I'm sure it's safe. I mean, it's been weeks since the incident. Besides, I miss this place. I was supposed to be staying here anyway. It makes no sense for me not to stay here. And what about Rex? I miss Rex. You've been visiting him everyday but I haven't. I want to spend time with him. And besides, I need to feel like I'm home. Joe's house doesn't feel like home. It feels like I'm visiting. Which makes sense because I am visiting."

"Okay." Steph said. "You win. You can stay."

"Yay!"

"But only for tonight. And I'm coming over."

"Sure. Whatever you want. Great. Bye!"

Hanging up, I pumped my fists in the air and shouted my joy. Exiting the bedroom, I talked a bit more with my mom, told her about the phone conversation and waved bye as she left. Times like this, I appreciated my mother.

* * *

Yep. I'm coming to a close. Soon, this story will be over and new one will begin. Volume 2! This will be so much fun! Don't forget to review! 


	15. Things Have Gotten Worse

I really wanna try to get to my next story so I'm gonna finish this one up ASAP. Next chapter! UP!

Disclaimer: Not the owner.

* * *

_Stephanie_

We were driving back to my apartment, Morelli and I. It was silent for a moment until we got to a red light.

"Tell me again why you're going back?" He asked me.

"Because Adriana has decided to move back in." I replied.

"And why is that?"

"Aunt Cassandra, her mother, decided that's what was best. She practically insisted on it. I even called to make sure."

Morelli cocked an eyebrow. "That's kinda sudden, isn't it? What brought this on?"

I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. The point is, she doesn't know about what happened at the apartment and we didn't want to tell her because she'd get really upset."

"So you're moving back in."

"Just for tonight." I paused. "But I promised Ana that if it went well, I'd let her make it longer."

He sighed then shrugged his shoulders. "I guess she has been over here for a while…"

We left it at that as the green light switched on. 5 minutes later, we were at the building. We took the elevator and walked right on in quickly enough.

"Adriana." I called. "We're here."

"Bathroom!" She called back.

I went to the bedroom to and tossed my stuff on the bed just in time to watch my cousin come out, drying her hands.

"Hey, what do you mean 'we'?" She asked.

"Joe's here too. He was my ride." I told her.

"Oh?" She went out to find him in the kitchen. "Hi, Joseph."

"Hey." He greeted.

I smiled. She was saying hi. Adriana never greeted people she didn't like. Ever. For her to take the time to do so was a very good sign.

"So…" Ana began. "Are you… like… moving in here?" She asked softly. I noted her eyes were going from the bedroom to the couch to Morelli to me to her and back again.

Morelli smiled and I knew he noticed too. "No. I'm just here to escort Stephanie and see how you were doing."

My cousin visibly relaxed. "I see."

I should have been a little irritated. And part of me was. But I thought it was amusing how subtle she was trying to be. And the truth was, I shared her fears. There was no way we could all live together with that little thing sitting in all of our heads.

After a bit more conversation, Morelli left and we got ourselves settled.

"You still hungry?" I asked her once were on the couch.

"Actually, yeah." She replied.

"What are you in the mood for?"

"Oh… I don't know. Maybe Chinese. I haven't had that in a while." I tossed her the menu. "Give me… combination fried rice, orange chicken, egg rolls, lo mein noodles and some of their chocolate cake."

This was the best thing about Adriana. She had the same appetite I did. She loved the same foods I did. Not to mention that I never had to worry about not eating because we tended to share. A lot. And that's basically the plan I had in mind when I ordered what she did except with Mandarin chicken, crab rangoon and egg drop soup.

"So how was your dinner?" I asked her.

"Oh, it was fine." She told me. "Nothing too special. Just talked and stuff."

"What about?"

"How I was doing living with you. And how it was to hang out with your boyfriend."

"Oh yeah? So… what did they say?"

"About Joseph? Nothing really. I mean, they were surprised and all, but that was it. I told them that Joe was better and stuff and they were happy for you."

"That's good to know." I wasn't quite sure I was happy with her answer. I felt she was hiding something. Before we could get into it, we heard knocking.

"I'll get it." Adriana said, jumping up quite quickly.

I narrowed my eyes. Now I knew she was hiding something. I started to wonder if whatever it was had to do with why my aunt insisted she move back in. She brought the food in and we helped ourselves to the food.

* * *

_Adriana_

I was antsy. I could feel my cousin boring her eyes into me and I felt really, really antsy. I was glad I had ordered so much food. This would give me time to think as I ate. And I needed to think. How was I gonna tell Stephanie that my mom got me to come back here because she could sense my constant worry over accidentally hearing her have sex with her boyfriend? There was no way to say this without causing much damage to one's feelings. No way. I either had to bide my time and hope she forget or say it at a time where she's too drained or whatever to even care or notice.

Turns out I didn't have to do either. Because at that point, Stephanie's cell phone rang. We both looked at it curiously and she answered. After a couple of minutes, I realized she was talking to Lula. She hung up and rolled her eyes prompting me to smile. Something was up.

"Problem?" I asked.

"Lula needs a little help catching an FTA." She said.

"You'd better go help her then. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Stephanie let out a sigh and nodded. "I'll be back in about an hour."

"Good luck. Be careful."

We waved and she left. Alone in the apartment, I put up our food and watched a bit of TV. A half hour later, I decided I needed some fresh air and thought I'd wander around for a moment. Scribbling a letter, I put it on the door and headed out. Taking the elevator, I walked outside and looked at the sky. It wasn't quite dark yet. We'd had dinner early at my parents' to leave free time during night. I could move around the complex for a quick minute and make it back inside before the sun set. Confident, I took off on a jog.

Of course, I wasn't in good shape so eventually I slowed to walking at a quick pace. I didn't mind though. The running start got me some leeway. I didn't have that much farther to go. 5 minutes later, I was back and early. So I thought I'd go around one more. This time just walking. I circled the buildings passing the parking lot, stopped at a corner when I was grabbed. It happened so suddenly, I wasn't even prepared for it. I had no time to scream because suddenly a most cloth was shoved into my face. The smell was strong and I knew instinctively what it was. Struggling wasn't working and the person pressed the cloth harder against my face making it harder to breathe. Dizziness was overtaking me and after a few more moments of vain resistance, everything went black.

* * *

Cliffhanger!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Stay tuned for my next chapter! I'm almost done!!! 


	16. Kidnapped: Mistake?

I'm adding the next update. Depending on how it works out, this may or may not be my last chapter. We'll just have to see. In the meantime… I just start this one off!

Dis: Uh uh.

* * *

__

Stephanie

I came home rather exhausted and it was no wonder. I was covered in sugary desserts, my clothes were all sticky and my hair was clumped together. I let out a small sigh. Of course, that's bound to happen when you corner someone in the bakery. I knew it was a bad idea but Lula had been so insistent. Why did I listen to her? It was a good thing I was her friend otherwise, we wouldn't be getting along too well.

I went straight to the bathroom to freshen up. I didn't notice the letter until I came out. Surprised, I picked it up and skimmed it. That's when I realized that I hadn't seen her in the bedroom. I looked out over the fire escape in the parking lot and saw that her car was gone. Then I looked back to the letter. It said Adriana had gone out to get some air but why did she need the car? I frowned for a moment then shrugged my shoulders. Maybe she also wanted some space too. I sat on the couch and decided to wait for her to get home. An hour passed. Then 2 hours passed and I found myself drifting off. By midnight, I had fallen asleep.

When I woke up again, it was morning. I was a little bit dazed for a couple of seconds when I noticed I was on the couch. Then I remembered why I was in the living room. Yawning, I headed to the bedroom and switched on the light. My eyes went to the bed where I noticed that no one was in it. In fact, it didn't even look like it had been slept in. I frowned staring at it and looked into the bathroom which was open. It was empty too. Now I was starting to worry. I wasn't exactly the lightest of sleepers but I tended to wake up if I felt even the slightest presence of someone near me. For me not to wake up at all last night and for the place to have just me… This didn't feel right. Immediately, I rushed to the phone.

"Hello?"

"Aunt Cass? It's me, Stephanie."

"Oh, hello Stephie. And how are you this morning?"

"I'm fine, thanks. Listen, has Adriana been over to your place?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

I paused. "I see."

"Why did you ask? Did you two fight again?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. I was just wondering that's all. Because she didn't tell me where she was headed."

"Oh? Well, don't worry. I'm sure you'll hear from her soon."

I hung up and frowned even more. She wasn't at her parents. Where else? I dialed again.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mom. It's Stephanie."

"Oh, hello dear. What can I do for you?"

"Fine, thank you. Is Adriana over there?"

"No. I haven't seen your cousin since her first day here. Why? You're getting along, aren't you?"

"We are. I was just wondering because she didn't tell me where she would be when she left."

"Aw. You're worried about her? How sweet. But don't worry. I'm sure she'll be there soon."

I disconnected and let out a breath I didn't know I held. I could feel my heart beating hard in my chest and a big feeling overcame me. This was looking all too familiar. I bit my lip. Where could she be?

* * *

_Adriana_

I woke up with a killer headache and disoriented. Groggily, I tried sitting up only to hit my head. Yelping in pain, I dropped back down wincing. It was then that I realized I was tied up. Again. And stuffed in a very small space. Again. A little moving and I knew there would be no getting out of these. My arms were behind my back this time and the ropes were tighter. I frowned. It was too dark for me to see anything. And I had no idea where I was. For the briefest of instances, I thought about a casket. And then I began to panic. How so? I started screaming. I didn't want to be buried alive!! When a person is in a coffin or whatever, that's usually when they're gonna bury you alive. I did not want that to happen.

I don't know long I had been screaming when suddenly the top of my prison went up and a gun was shoved into my face.

"Shut up!" snapped the wielder.

I shut up and looked with wide eyes. Was I gonna die here? He smirked at me then walked away slamming the ceiling back down. I let out a sigh. I was in a trunk of a car. Well, at least that explained something. I looked around a bit more and had another realization that completely sunk my spirits. This was my car. I was tied up in the trunk of my very own car. _My car._ What kind of person gets held captive in her own fucking car?! A pathetic person, that's who. This was so frustrating.

The gunman from before was talking to someone. My heart filled with dread when I realized there were a lot more people to worry about now. Not just two. I could feel my body shaking with anxiety and starting to cramp. Folded up in a car trunk is not the most comfortable of positions. I wish I could hear what they were saying. But the trunk was too thick muffling the voices. I'd guess they didn't want me to identify them but the first gunman had come to me without a mask. I felt dread again with this thought. Usually, when they let you see them, it meant they weren't planning on letting you leave alive. My mood dropped predictably enough.

A few moments later, the trunk popped open again and about 4 men stared at my form. They were wearing masks and I felt just a little bit of hope. This was a good sign, right?

"So this is her?" commented one to his buddy.

"Yep." Responded the other. "I know. I'm surprised too. Who'd have thought this little bitch is a bounty hunter."

I was officially alarmed and confused. They knew where I worked! But how? I didn't do anything worthy of being known. Not even falling off the roof went in the newspaper. I stopped thinking when one of them leaned in to look at me.

"You've caused quite a lot of trouble, Ms. Stephanie Plum."

I did a double take. "Excuse me??!! What did you just call me?"

"What, you don't know your own name?"

I surprised myself by laughing. I don't know what happened. It just slipped out. Maybe I was getting hysterical. That had to be it. But I was so shocked; I just couldn't believe what I heard.

"What's so fucking funny?" One of the goons snapped.

"That's not my name!" I told them after finally slowing my giggles.

"What?!"

"That's not my name. My name isn't Stephanie Plum. You have the wrong woman." I bit my lip to stop more giggles.

There was a stunned pause that erupted into anger as 3 turned on the one I assumed to be my kidnapper.

"Damn it! You got the wrong woman!"

"How could you screw this up?"

"What the fuck man!"

That's when something occurred to me.

"Hold on." I interrupted. "Are you telling me that you went after a woman and you don't even know what she looks like?"

I took their silence as a yes and rolled my eyes. You had to be fucking kidding me.

"What were you doing at her apartment?" inquired my captor.

"I'm her roommate." I said without thinking about it. "I live there."

"Is that so? Well, then how about we make a deal?"

"Deal?"

"We know you don't wanna be here and we don't want you here. So check it out. You help us find your roommate and we'll let you go free."

"Forget it!" I snapped without hesitation. "I may not wanna be here but I'm not gonna help you kidnap someone else!"

I got glares and I suddenly figured maybe I was being too bold. Gulping, I instinctively scooted back a little tense. Then they seemed to relax which made me even more unrelaxed.

"That's okay." Said the biggest one. "It's fine. We'll just find her ourselves." He gestured to his buddies and they started walking away.

"Hey, wait!" I yelled. "What are we gonna do with me?"

"Nothing. You'll just stay here."

"What?! You can't just leave me locked in a trunk!!"

"Watch us."

And with a slam, the trunk was down and I heard the lock click. I immediately yelled for them to come back but to no avail. Eventually, I heard another car drive off and then there was silence. Dead silence. I suddenly felt unnerved all alone in the dark and quiet so I started shifting position for something to keep my mind off things. It wasn't working. Ugh! Why me?

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Chapter 16. Done!! There will be a small hiatus because I'm working on another story too. My muse doesn't want to leave it alone. She's obsessed. But don't worry. I'm almost finished! Review me!!! Until next chapter! 


	17. Chaos and Resolution

This is it! My last chapter! Finally, a complete story will be mine! I haven't had one since ages. After this, I will begin the sequel. Volume two. I can't wait!

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Disclaimer: It isn't mine.

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_Adriana_

I was very uncomfortable in the trunk. Being tied up and gagged will do that to you. Why did I have the gag now? Because apparently I was making too much noise and they didn't want anyone finding me. I'd started making a racket again because the silence was too unnerving and I really wanted out of there. I never heard the car through the yelling or the footsteps coming my way until the trunk popped open and once again I had the gun in my face. They didn't even say anything to me. One of them just disappeared from sight for a moment and came back with a thick rag to force into my mouth. I tried keeping my mouth shut to no avail. If that wasn't enough, they put some tape over my mouth to keep the rag in threatening to tape over my nose if I didn't behave. Knowing that would make it impossible to breathe, I kept still. Successfully gagging me, they closed and locked the trunk and drove off again.

Now I had to worry about not choking on the rag by accidentally swallowing it. I was so not happy and freaking out little by little. I wondered how long I'd been in here. I managed to glimpse a hint of sunlight when the trunk was open so I knew it was morning. Wait… morning?! How long was I unconscious before now?! Groaning in frustration, I tried looking around to find something, anything, to get me out of here. But I couldn't see anything. You'd think I'd figure something out seeing as how this was my car… Yet I had nothing. Honestly, who would have thought I'd need to figure out what the hell was in my trunk?

* * *

_Stephanie_

"Adriana didn't come home last night."

Those were the words I'd said to one Joseph Morelli when I called him just a few minutes ago. It was 10 minutes after the phone call to my mom and my aunt looking for my cousin. As calm as their words were, they did little to comfort me. I knew something was wrong. That's why I made the phone call.

I was pacing around my apartment now anxiety filling my being when I suddenly heard the door open and Joseph came in. He barely shut the door as he rushed over to me. The anxiety was apparent in his eyes.

"What happened?" He demanded.

"Lula called asking for help with an FTA." I began. "I left to help out and when I came back Adriana left a note saying she'd gone out to get some air. I decided to wait for her in the living room so I'd know if she came in. But when I woke up and looked around…" I bit my lip again.

Morelli put his hand on my shoulder as comfort then he headed to my bedroom to look out the fire escape. "Her car is gone."

"I know. I checked that as soon I knew she wasn't home." I sighed in frustration and worry. "I don't get it. What could have happened?"

"Hey, calm down. I'll get the guys on it ASAP." He looked at me and his expression softened. "Don't worry. We'll find her."

I smiled for him but I had to be honest with myself. I wasn't sure it'd be in time.

"You'll be okay on your own?" He asked.

I nodded. "I'm fine. Go. Look for her."

With a brisk nod, Morelli left as quickly as he arrived. When he was gone, I collapsed onto the couch and let out another sigh of aggravation and concern. Instinctively, I found myself saying a prayer. I hadn't been to church in a while but I hope God didn't hold that against me.

It then occurred to me to think about Ranger. I hadn't called him yet. Did he know? I mean, he did have a habit of knowing everything but I wasn't sure. I debated calling him to see when the door opened and the man in question entered my apartment. I looked at him and our eyes locked. Yep. He knew.

"How long?" Ranger asked me.

"Since 9." I didn't bother asking when or how he learned this. "I called Morelli and he said he's working on it."

Ranger nodded. His men were probably already searching too.

"She took the car?"

I nodded. "She said she needed some air. According to the note." I closed my eyes.

Ranger walked next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "It'll be okay Babe. We'll find her."

I smiled and nodded again.

After a bit more conversation, Ranger took off. Alone in the apartment, I suddenly realized it felt too… loud. My thoughts were driving me insane. I had to get out of the apartment. Just for a little while.

Gathering my stuff, I headed out locking the door behind me. I wasn't sure where I'd go. My parents' place wasn't a good idea. Nor Adriana's parents.' They'd read the apprehension on my face and realize something was wrong. And I didn't think I'd have the energy to come up with a good lie. Driving around seemed like the best option so I hopped into my car.

* * *

I drove around aimlessly for about 10 minutes and got tired of it fast. So I tried a destination. Randomly, I picked the mall. Parking the car, I headed inside for something to take my mind off things. A half hour later, I was getting ready to head back outside. I couldn't get Adriana off my mind. God, why did she have to disappear? 

I was in the parking lot heading towards my car when another car appeared in front of me nearly running me over. I let out a shocked screech as it stopped in front of me. The car doors opened and I backed away sensing something bad was about to happen as a group of 4 men came out.

"We're gonna need you to come with us, Miss Stephanie Plum." Commanded one of the goons. The leader, I assumed.

I cocked my eyebrow at him. He didn't really think I'd make this easy on him, did he? But then I saw the gun in his hand, concealed just a little. He'd shoot me if I tried anything and in public it could easily seem like a random murder. I glared but walked willingly enough to the car and was shoved into the backseat. Two of them snagged my pocket book, took my car keys and drove away with my car. That was actually pretty clever.

"Are we sure this is the Stephanie Plum?" I heard the 2nd guy ask with a sarcastic tone as we drove from the mall. "We don't want another mistake like we had with the blonde."

My attention was caught instantly and I stared with wide eyes. The driver spotted me and smiled.

"Oh yeah… She said she was your roommate, didn't she?" He commented.

Alarm filled my very being at the realization. Ana… "What did you do with her?!" I demanded in outrage.

"Calm down, pretty lady." Said the guy next to me. "She's not going anywhere. Besides, I'd be worrying about yourself if I were you."

We'd been driving for a moment by this time and I was suddenly very, very angry. I thought about Adriana and the more I thought about her, the more pissed off I was getting. Then I thought about what she'd told me when someone was in her car trying to take her somewhere and an idea came to me. Maybe it was because I was so furious before it seemed like the perfect to do. Especially because we were in some traffic. On impulse, I practically stood up in the car and grabbed the driver, covering his eyes. Everything happened like crazy after that. Both my captors cursed and I saw the driver's partner reach for his gun and I latched onto his neck pulling him backwards. Then the gun was out and I let go just in time to watch us completely lose control. We crashed into an 18 wheeler pretty hard, taking most of the damage but it stopped traffic. All of us in the car weren't in good condition but I managed to slip out the car and I took off. I heard a gun shot and I dropped to the ground. Suddenly more cars appeared and at the sound of sirens, I looked up to see some very familiar cars. Some being black and some being police vehicles. I got back up to see cops surrounding the vehicle I had been in and my kidnappers hauled out forcefully. The driver being put into an ambulance vehicle because of injuries. I was standing around surrounded by the chaos when I finally spotted two figures at the same time they spotted me. Ranger and Morelli came to my side within an instant.

"Are you all right?" Morelli asked me.

I merely nodded. "They're the ones who kidnapped Ana!" I told him.

"We know." Ranger told me.

"How did you…?" I began, suddenly wondering how they appeared here at this moment.

"We found their buddies with your car. It didn't take much for them to talk."

Morelli suddenly got a call on his walkie-talkie. He answered and by the time he was done, he had the grimmest expression on his face. "We found Ana's car."

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_Adriana_

I woke up again disoriented and for a moment, I freaked out in the darkness unable to move and with something in my mouth. But then I remembered what the deal was and calmed down. If only a little. This situation wasn't good but at least I wasn't lost and confused. I started feeling hot and my body was cramping even more. I had the most annoying urge to swallow but was too afraid to do so lest I accidentally swallowed the rag and choked. So that made my situation completely worse. I was starting to lose my mind. After one of my many groans of frustration, I realized I couldn't take it anymore. I had to get out of here!

I closed my eyes to think. Okay… this was my car. I had to know something about my car that was useful. I kept thinking a bit more focusing on the inside of the car when it hit me. The backseat! This was one of the cars where behind the backseat was the trunk. If you pulled on a certain switch and yanked the back down, that was the inside of the trunk! All I had to do was figure out where that part was. That'd be the easy part. The hard part was shifting position. God, I was gonna hate this.

Counting to 3, I moved. It was a grueling process but I managed to make myself sit up so my back was against the area in front of the backseat. I was panting by this time. Or at least as well as one could when you had something in your mouth. I was exhausted. And thirsty. And I was suddenly dizzy. That's when I got alarmed again. This wasn't good. I was probably dying of heat stroke in here. I needed to get out fast. Gritting my teeth, I wiggled my tied up hands back to try and find the little door switch to the back door. I don't know how long I kept that up but it seemed like forever. I was thinking about giving up when suddenly, I felt something. Latching onto it, I pulled and then pushed with all my strength. And it opened! I was so relieved I thought about collapsing right there but I resisted the urge. I pushed again with my back until it opened all the way and then I fell backwards with a squeal. On the bright side, I was out of the trunk. On the not so bright side, I was now literally upside down and hanging off the back seat. Of all the annoying things… I struggled to sit up and pull myself up for a good minute and got nowhere. This frustrated me even more. Growling now, I struggled and struggled and struggled some more but got nowhere again. Great. Now I was stuck. I was stuck and now the blood was rushing to my fucking head. I let out a defeated groan followed by a whine. Why me?

It was around this time, I saw the shadow of a man. I started freaking out until he officially came within my vision and our eyes met. It was Joseph Morelli. Our expressions of surprise mirrored each others and the next thing I knew, the door was open and he had his arms wrapped around me pulling me up. An instant later, Ranger was right by his side and together they got me out of the car and right side up where Steph was looking on. My body felt like jello at this point so I was being held up by them both to keep from falling over. Joe took the tape off my mouth and I spit out the rag with immense relief.

"Oh my god, that feels much better!" I breathed as they untied me, looking me over at the same time.

Stephanie wrapped me in a hug. "Are you okay?" She asked when she pulled back.

I nodded. "Yeah. But it was hot in there." I fanned myself for good measure closing my eyes.

Stephanie let out a laugh and hugged me again. Joe and Ranger were looking at me with amused expressions and I saw their shoulders finally relax.

"How'd you find me anyway?" I asked.

After I got the story, I sighed. "Wow, that's rough. Sorry about that."

Stephie shook her head. "It's not your fault. But it would have been nice if you could have just stayed in the apartment."

I pouted indignantly. "I didn't know I was gonna get kidnapped. You'd think someone could walk around their apartment complex without worrying about someone trying to abduct you. I don't even know where these guys came from."

"Remember those guys that left the letters and broke into your apartment?" Ranger asked me.

"Yeah…"

"They're accomplices. Trying to finish what was started."

"Oh…" I looked at Joseph. "So they're in custody now?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We got them."

I smiled. "Good. Can we go home now? I'm really tired and I don't think I got any sleep while in my car."

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I'm finished!!!!! My story is complete!!!!! At long last!!! w00t!!!!!!! 17 chapters! Now I shall begin… Volume 2!!! Stick around readers of mine! Hope you have me on your alert list so you can be on the look out! 

I'll be seeing you!!!

P.S. Reviews are appreciated. Thank you.


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